Pieces
by Dmfritsc
Summary: Bane's fall has left Bruce wanting to know more. Bruce calls upon Holly Engel to help him with the task. Removing the mask reveals things he never knew about himself, leaving a wake of distress. Can they help each other and stop the newest villain on the rise?
1. Chapter 1: Arkham

**I haven't edited this a bit! I know I had two chapters posted, but please bear with me, I wasn't digging what I was doing. I have completely changed what was written before, but am following the same plot. Enjoy!**

My therapist sat in her chair a few feet away, studying me. I hated that feeling – being under the microscope, being judged, and vulnerable like that, your weaknesses splayed out for all to see. It was the main reason I kept to myself, why I didn't take the time to get to know other people outside of my comfort zone. I mindlessly picked at the balls of lint on her cloth couch, basically doing whatever I could to avoid making eye contact with her. You would think after 15 years of talking to her that I would be comfortable with her. _Wrong._ You would also think that because of me being a surgeon that I would have the most excellent people skills you had ever seen. _Wrong again_. Being a surgeon requires me to keep my cool, have good bedside manners, and show little emotion– it does not require me to spill my innermost thoughts with some bitch who took as much schooling as did, just to get paid to give 'good advice.' I took a deep breath, smelling that usual smell of Play-Doh that I always smelled in there. _ Good God, I fucking hate the smell of Play-Doh._

"Tell me about the last time you were genuinely happy, Holly," Jada spoke, adjusting her glasses. I always assumed they were fake and that she just used them because that's what everyone thought of when they thought of therapist. I sighed at the word happy. _Genuinely happy?_ I fought the urge to snort. _Who is ever genuinely happy?_ I sifted through my thoughts– the madhouse that holds them all together– sorting each immediate thought into "unhappy" and "happy."

"The day I graduated college or the day I graduated from medical school?" I answered, with it sounding more like a question. A question for myself– that I obviously couldn't fucking answer. _Was that it? Were those the only things that made me happy? Surely there was a time between then and now…_

"That was almost eight years ago," she stated, still remaining steely regardless of the shock in her voice. _No shit, I know that._

"Yep," I quipped, trying to remain polite.

"That's quite a long time."

"Yep," I repeated, more anger in my voice. _She really wants to go __**there**__ today._ My hands smoothed my charcoal gray pencil skirt out. I had been making rounds at the hospital and it had taken damn near all day, all I wanted to do was go home, kick my heels off and sit for a while on my own cloth couch that _didn't _have lint all over it. We still had a lot of patients at Gotham Medical, even though it was two months after the hostage situation we had encountered. Gordon was back in the hospital, as feeble as ever. Batman had re-emerged after a short break, in the most unexpected of places– my office, in the form of his true self– Bruce Wayne. Gordon had recommended him to me, told him he could trust me. I did two full knee replacements on Bruce's knees, with a new titanium bionic creation of Lucius Fox's. _Speaking of Bruce, I haven't heard from him in a while…_

"Holly?" Jada asked me, staring at me with concern. I snapped out of my mental rambling and stared at her wistfully. "Are you going to answer my question?"

"What question?" She moved in her seat and crossed her long, lean legs at me.

"The question of if you've had any nightmares recently." The word nightmare always affected me in the most childish of ways, even at the age of 32. My palms began to sweat at the word as I tried to build a mental barrier at the haunting memories. Memories of _him_. I wanted to coil myself up tight to help fight the urge to think about it. I tried to think of nothing but empty space, filled with absolutely nothing. It never lasted long. I faired pretty well most of the time though, I was able to function like a normal human being despite what happened to me. Some days were great and other days were pure unadulterated hell. It was highly recommended that I continue to visit a therapist until I could 'get over' my social anxiety so that I wouldn't turn into a 'murdering lunatic' like the others that occupied our city. "I'm going to take your silence as a yes." She marked something down on her notepad and refolded her hands in her lap. I straightened myself up on the couch.

"What happened in your dream, Holly?" It wasn't comfortable now. The smell of that rank ass Play-Doh filled my lungs as I took a deep breath. My mental wall collapsed completely as his hands reached through it, searching for my neck again. A knife was in between his teeth. _Oh, God._ The knife scraped against my throat as he laughed manically. I could smell the vodka on his breath. I felt the sudden urge to vomit. _I'm going to vomit all over this prude's office and mask out that terrible smell with my own. _I closed my eyes as I coughed, trying to keep myself from getting sick. When I found the courage to open my eyes, I found her in her spot, still staring at me intently. All I wanted to do was scream at her. I didn't want to talk about that shit anymore. I wanted to be normal. I yearned to be normal. I wanted a boyfriend, friends, and a life. A life that revolved around people other than my patients and Venus Thomas, a good friend of mine. _The only friend of mine_. I shook my head at myself. "What happened?" This time I didn't hold back my snort.

"For the last 15 years it's all been about _him_. Ever stop to think that- oh, maybe- this is just isn't helping?" I snapped.

"Talking about it does help," she assured me.

"Does it?" I remarked, staring at her with an expression I would probably consider crazy if I didn't know myself.

"Yes, it does." I shook my head vehemently, just like a four year old until my phone rang. "Holly, you know you're not supposed to have-" I gingerly held up one finger as I answered.

"Doctor Engel, speaking," I answered, with a fake cheery sound to my voice.

"Doctor Engel, it's Bruce Wayne." _Speaking of the devil_.

"Bruce Wayne," I sang, scanning the room to avoid Jada's gaze. "How are you?"

"I'm very well." I could hear the smile in his voice and I briefly wondered if he faked it too. Surely a man who saved a city countless times without any personal recognition would get some kind of pissy, right?

"Your knees?"

"As good as they ever have been."

"Excellent," I chirped. "What can I help you with then, Bruce?"

"I have an important proposition for you, but I would like to speak to you in person about it." My brain perked up, pushing all of my energy into the processes of my brain. "Can you meet me in the Infirmary of Arkham Asylum in an hour?" I glanced at the clock in the room, figuring in time to wrap it up with Jada, getting my car from the garage, and driving to Arkham.

"Yes," I answered, curious as to why in the hell we had to meet at a damn asylum.

"Great. I'll see you then." He hung up the phone, leaving me to hang mine up. I met Jada's eyes, seeing that she was awestruck, something completely unusual for her.

"Was that Bruce Wayne as in Bruce Wayne of Wayne Enterprises?" she breathed.

"Yes," I replied slowly. She made a face I couldn't quite read and smoothed out her blazer, returning to her steely demeanor.

"I have to leave to meet him. Client business… you know…" I explained, waving my hand around as I stood up, praying that I was being convincing. For years, when I was little, I had been an excellent liar. Somewhere around the time of college, that wore off.

"Our session isn't over."

"Yeah and your ass is still getting paid for the full time, so? What's the problem?" She looked at me, shell-shocked. _Whoa, two unusual expressions in one day. At least we're making progress with someone in this therapy session_. "I'll see you within the month, as usual." She made no attempt to stop me, which I was grateful for. Mainly because I didn't like being nasty, it reminded too much of _him_.

Arkham Asylum was just as disgusting as I remembered it and had I not known that Bruce was Batman, I probably would have found this disturbingly odd. Arkham was large, dark, and noisy. I hadn't been there since – I swallowed to cut the thought off. There was no way I could uphold myself in that place with _him_ on my mind. The walls were covered in a thick, gooey slime that made me want to shower my body with bleach. I straightened out my white lab coat that I thrown on over my plum dress shirt and nervously pushed back my raven hair. I had pulled it into a sleek ponytail in the car on the drive over, knowing what conditions I was about to willingly walk into. My name badge gleamed under the occasional light as I clicked down the hallway behind two guards holding M-16's. They looked like they were prepared for war and I couldn't blame them one bit as the 'prisoners' howled, whistled, and shook the bars of their cells like mad. The farther we walked, the more anxious I became. _Surely this isn't a prank. Bruce really said Arkham, right? Yes, or the guard would have looked at me like I should be admitted_. I cleaned my jaw tightly. We made a right turn down the hallway and I almost cheered like a fool when I saw the large plexi-glass wall of the Infirmary. It was blazing with bright lights and actually seemed clean.

"Right on time," Bruce spoke from the wall. I smiled, pulling out my special charm that I reserved for my patients. Selina Kyle sat in a chair against the wall beside Bruce, her slinky legs crossed seductively. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Had it not been entirely inappropriate, I would have loved to have told her that I zero interest in her boyfriend, just so she would stop trying to have a silent catfight with me. _Oh, the irony_. Bruce rose up from his chair much faster than the last time I had seen him stand months ago. He extended his hand to me and shook it with enthusiasm.

"Nice to see you back to your old form," I praised, just as any doctor would to a patient who had made significant progress.

"I have an amazing surgeon to thank for that." I wanted to roll my eyes. _Try again later, playboy_. "You remember Selina?" he asked, the undertone hinting that she should stand up and acknowledge me. _As if this woman didn't hate me enough_. She gave me a toothy grin and gracefully rose from her chair.

"Yes, of course I do! It's a pleasure to see you again," I told her, extending my hand to her. She placed hers in mine, gingerly, making sure to squeeze it with an unexpected strength. _I read you loud and clear, girlfriend. Your boyfriend doesn't mean shit to me._

"And you as well," she purred, pursing her bright red lips together. After a beat, I looked awkwardly around the Infirmary before deciding to speak.

"So, Bruce, tell me what kind of proposition you could honestly offer to me in a place like this." I tucked my hands into the pockets of my lab coat and stared up at the ceiling before meeting his eyes.

"You have to see it first," he explained, gesturing to something behind me. I turned and laid my eyes on a guarded vault door.

"Something tells me there's not any money behind that door," I teased. He laughed at my teasing and made a gesture for the guard to open the door.

"Yes and no," he answered, bobbing his head slightly. "If you agree to this, I will be more than happy to pay you a handsome amount for it." The door opened with a loud creak. I glanced between the black, open space where the door once stood, then back to Bruce. My curiosity was definitely killing my cat.

"You mean we have to see him again?" Selina asked, taking a step backwards.

"You can stay here, love, I just need to show Holly," he cooed, patting her hand. She nodded silently and sat down on her chair, this time, she stayed perched on the edge as she stared into the darkness. Whatever or whoever this was, was scary enough to calm the ballsy Selina into a mere housecat compared to the lion she portrayed herself to be. I felt a familiar anxiety rip itself down my spine with a vengeance. I was scared for the first time in a while. _What if it was him? What if he wasn't dead?_ My palms began to sweat. Bruce walked reluctantly past me into the darkness. I could feel the energy as it swirled into the space behind him. I took a deep breath, damning my inner-self as I crossed the threshold_. I don't know Bruce. Sure, he's Batman, but do I really trust this man?_ The air in the hallway was dense. Breathing was difficult. I released a large gust of air and clicked behind Bruce. A soft faint glow of light appeared ahead of us, hanging high from the ceiling, behind bars. I caught a glimpse of a massive silhouette on a block of some sort. My heart raced with panic. Adrenaline shot to every muscle fiber in my body. _Oh, Jesus, what if it's him?_ I felt like I was going to suffocate. My thoughts became light and airy. I took another step, stumbling and crashing into Bruce as my knee gave way. He stopped and held onto me.

"You okay?" he asked. "Sorry it's so dark in here." I nodded, feeling like a complete ass.

"Welcome back, Bruce," a deep, threatening voice greeted. I froze, my mouth going slack as I gaped at the heap on the block a few feet away.


	2. Chapter 2: Bane

**So, as you're going to find out in a second… I have completely revamped this story. I have completely changed the way I am writing it. I'm keeping the same plot, I just hated the way I was writing it. (One of those weird writer things, you know? When you read through it and the day you read through it, it sound likes shit. Yeah, that happened to me.) So, please, re-read the first chapter and read this one and celebrate the new joy of a brand new story. I haven't edited two words of this, so forgive me for errors. Thank you so much for the support! – D**

My eyes enlarged as I took in the muscle of a man with a large scar trailing down his spine. Pricks went up mine at the sight of it. "Who is your friend? She is much too clumsy and loud to be Selina." He laughed dryly at his own comment at my expense.

"Someone I'd like you to meet. I think she can help you." I rolled my eyes in the dark, recalling when my uncle said the same thing to me all of those years ago before he brought Jada into my hospital room. _What makes other people feel like they know what will help for other people?_ The man scoffed and rose from the concrete block, towering over us. I swallowed hard when I recognized the mask on the man's face as he turned in our direction. My head shook back and forth as I tried to find words to use that would sound like coherent speech. _Fuck no. Not Bane._ His skin was incredibly smooth over his rippling muscle, the only hair being his eyebrows, which were in the most unpleasant expression. His eyes burrowed into mine and I could feel him exploring my memories and thoughts. The vulnerability made me bite my tongue in anger. "Bane, this is Doctor Holly Engel. Holly, I want you to meet Bane."

"I know who the fuck this is," I spat. He hurt thousands of people and possibly killed even more. _What could I possibly want with a sadistic fuck like this?_ "I this is my proposition? To do what? Murder him, because good old 'Batman' can't get his hands dirty?" Bane chuckled. He folded his arms, his chest heaving up and down. "Because that's the only thing I can even think of to do with him."

"Holly…" Bruce started, walking towards me with his hands up. He looked like he was approaching a hostage negotiation.

"What?" I snapped.

"I need your help."

"With?"

"Bane."

"What about Bane?" I asked, rolling my eyes to the monster. His eyes were still locked on me like I was a target. A chill filled the air around me in the most unpleasant, god awful way. The muscles in my back tensed. "What do you possibly need help with? He's behind bars and still breathing- problem equals solved."

"I like this one… she has a… certain fire and energy about her," Bane added, taking a step towards the bars, towards me. I turned and raised my finger, ready to redirect my anger, failing to think of anything witty to say.

"Shut your fucking mouth," I quipped. Bruce sighed and pressed a button on the wall beside him. We all watched as a plexi-glass barrier lowered itself from the ceiling. It connected and sealed with the ground of Bane's cell with a loud clunk noise. Bane pointed at Bruce, but we couldn't hear him. _If he was even talking._ I stared at him.

"Hey," Bruce breathed in a calm voice. "Look at me, Holly. Ignore him. He's trying to bog you down. Don't let him win." Bruce grabbed my shoulders and turned me to face him. His brown eyes were warm and kind. His hair was long and dark brown, wavy, slicked back with spots of gray peeking out. "I called you out here, because you're the only one I can trust with this. I need to know about Bane's mask."

"Take it off then," I smarted, not wanting any part of Bruce's plan.

"I would, but he's rumored to be disfigured. You were the best reconstructive surgeon in Gotham."

"Yes, I _was_," I corrected, interrupting him. I never got back into reconstructive surgery after criminals started shelling out large amounts of money to have their faces remade so they could stay off the radar.

"You were very successful. You were hand picked out of every other surgeon to help Harvey Dent." Harvey's name made me immediately think of his face and the terrible shape it was in. That was the first and only time I ever cried for a patient. He was a strong, brilliant man who became a broken soul. I hated making rounds to his room when he was in the hospital.

"Yeah, and it's been awhile." Bruce laughed.

"I'm sure you could pick it up again, very easily. You shouldn't be so modest. You're an amazing surgeon." _Modest? Amazing? Bruce Wayne – the charmer._

"So, he needs his face fixed. Why? Why not just take off his mask and let the fucker rot?" Bruce cleared his throat and regarded me seriously.

"I don't kill people, Holly. I don't care if he is a fucked up individual. That would make me no better than the other people in this asylum." I raised an eyebrow to him and looked at Bane, who was stomping around his cell, banging on the plexi-glass. "I want to know about that mask. I want to know what chemicals he's been living off of. And you're the only person I can trust with this."

"Yeah, you said that," I cracked.

"I'll pay you fifty thousand each day you're here with him, starting today." _Jesus._ I tried to maintain a poker face, but knew I was failing. "I need to make sure that I can stop this from happening again. Just in case there are more of him." _More?_ He hurt so many people. He orphaned so many children. He put those criminals back on the streets- the abusers, child molesters, rapists- I felt a buildup of anger. Bruce and what remained of the police were _**still**_ cleaning up the criminals that escaped during the time of Bane. _That could happen again?_

"I'll help you, but I want nothing to do with him after he recovers, you understand?" Bruce nodded. "I just want to make it absolutely clear to you that I'm not doing this for the money, either. I'm doing this so you can stop another Bane before he does the same thing. If I help you – history better not fucking repeat itself," I warned, holding a finger up. Bane flexed and bucked his head back before slamming his hands into the concrete block he had been sitting on. The ground shook below our feet. Bane had successfully turned into a pile of rubble.

"I promise you I'll keep this from happening again," Bruce spoke in a low voice a few inches away from my ear.

"You fucking better – so help you God."

I walked into my apartment, the familiar soothing silence falling enveloping me as I walked to my brown cloth couch. It was just what I needed. I held Bane's file in my hands as I plopped down on the cushion, feeling a smile pull at my lips as I sat my feet on the matching ottoman, kicking my heels off. _Finally._ Bane's file felt like a damn phone book. I inspected the beat up manila folder. It was obvious it had been around for a while, due to the coffee stains on the front, the scrawled notes, and phone numbers on the front of it. I hadn't eaten for hours, but it didn't bother me. The only thing I could think of was the surgery. The surgery that Bruce took upon himself to schedule for 3 in the afternoon, tomorrow. I looked over at the calendar hanging in my kitchen and smirked. _Poor old Mrs. Cole was going to have to wait another day or two for her hip replacement, the sad old bitch._ She was rude to me, so it was hard for me to feel sorry about it. I stared at the file, not really wanting to open it. I bit my lip and scanned my living room. _Now I'm pretending objects are people I need to avoid._ I rolled my eyes. _ I wonder what Jada would have to say to that. _I snorted at her serious expression as I explained to her my new dilemma in my mind and opened the file.

Paper clipped to the inside cover was a picture of Bane before his transformation. I felt my jaw drop open as I took in the sight. It was a major difference compared to the monster he had become. He was muscular, his full lips pulled up in a small smirk, holding his card with his name and registration number. He was attractive, well groomed, with longish hair, and a clean shaven face. His blue eyes seemed to be churning with something I couldn't quite put my finger on. "Liam Dorrance," I whispered. _So you do have a real name_. "And you were born in Dublin, Ireland," I read, scoffing a bit. I flipped through the long list of charges. A page shook itself loose from the pile and fell, I instinctively reached down to pick it up immediately. I turned the paper over to meet the same blue eyes, this time behind a large metallic mask, churning with nothing but pure hatred. A chill rolled down my spine. I turned the paper over and shook myself loose. I wasn't going to let that asshole get to me. I didn't let people into my life or mind like that. I was single and alone for a reason. Clearing my throat loudly, I pulled the front piece of paper out again.

**DORRANCE, LIAM "BANE"**

**/ Height: 6'5" / Weight: 300 / Hair: None / Eyes: Blue / DOB: Apr 16, 1975 /**

**Born in Dublin, Ireland to AILIS DORRANCE and EDMUND DORRANCE [**_**see file**_**] of Bray, Ireland**

**Graduated from Cambridge University with a degree in Engineering and a degree in Medicine on May 6, 1993.**

**Known to speak: Spanish, English, German, French, Russian, Mandarin, Urdu, Persian, Portuguese, and Latin**

**Sentenced to a lifetime of imprisonment in The Pit for his father's sentence on June 6, 1995, was broken out by RA'S AL GHUL [**_**see file**_**] on August 4, 2007. Recently emerged in 2011 from hiding, with a permanent mask on his face. [**_**see updated images**_**]**

**Known to be an affiliate with The League of Shadows [**_**see file**_**] and Suicide Squad [**_**see file**_**] and TALIA AL GHUL [**_**see file**_**]**

I shook my head as I read through it. "Father's sentence?" _What in the hell?_ "And fucking Cambridge?! With a double major –" I tried to think. I barely made it through my damned Medicine degree and this man earned a double major with an _Engineering_ degree. I scoffed and turned his picture back over. "Who the fuck are you?" I asked out loud, as if I would get a response. _Wow, yeah, we're going to have a serious talk with Jada about talking to in adamant objects soon._ I sat, scratching my head when a knock came from my door. I cocked an eyebrow at it. I wasn't used to visitors. At all. I trudged to the door, staring at the door with my head cocked to the side. I opened it slowly and was greeted with an overly ecstatic burst of energy. Arms threw themselves around me, holding me in a tight vice grip of a hug. Venus. I could tell by the tickling of frizzy hair on my face. I scrunched my face up.

"Holly!" she cheered, squeezing me. I patted her shoulder awkwardly.

"Hey Venus," I choked.

"I hope you remembered we were doing dinner tonight," she stated, holding up a bag of Chinese take-out. _Oh, shit. _

"Of course I remembered," I mumbled, shutting the door as she made herself at home. She placed the bag on my kitchen table and I watched her eyes catch the file on my couch.

"Well, if you're too busy being a big, important surgeon, I can leave." I could hear the jealousy and anger in her voice.

"No," I sneered, sitting down at the table. "It's just a new case a friend asked me to look into."

"Oh," she started, waving a finger at me as she sat a container of orange chicken down before me. "Speaking of friends…" I sighed silently. "Do you still see Bruce Wayne?" _Fuck, not Bruce._

"As a patient, yes," I answered. _A patient that I regard highly and do not wish to see tainted or pissed off._

"Well, I've been working on a new serum at work and I feel it could be very valuable and useful in the right hands of an investor." I slicked back my ponytail and stared at her, watching as she pulled her baggy pants back up onto her hips. Her clothes were always too large. She looked sizes larger than what she really was. She placed two glasses of water on the table and sat across from me, raising an un-plucked eyebrow in my direction. Had anyone known who we really were and what we were really like, I'd say my personality fit more into the way Venus looked instead of the way I did. I was too well groomed and cared what too much about my appearance to not care about my relationships with people. She was outgoing and quirky and I was brash and quiet. My job made me care about my appearance. If I walked into a patient's room looking like Venus, I'm quite sure I wouldn't have anyone else showing up at my doorstep. Venus, being a chemical engineer and pharmacist, sat around a damn microscope all day, hanging out with other carefree nerds, so she had nothing to worry about.

"We'll see, okay? Bruce is my most well respected client. He's a fucking billionaire for Christ's sake. I don't know his feelings on all of that shit. We don't exactly talk about business deals and ideas while he's in my office for a check-up." _But, we can talk about murderous freaks who need to have their faces reconstructed. _She furrowed her eyebrows at me and pointed her fork in my direction.

"It's not shit," she scolded. I rolled my eyes.

"You know what the fuck I meant," I spat back, rising up to the challenge. I wasn't trying to make it a damn argument.

"Any bit helps." She backed down and took another bite.

"And you think I don't know that?" I asked, not letting the anger leave my voice.

"Just forget it and eat," she mumbled, hunching her shoulders in defeat.


	3. Chapter 3: Blake & Gordon

**If you couldn't tell already- I love smart ass, bold female characters (kind of like myself, but I am not as open about it). I cannot and I mean cannot stand the mousy little Bella Swan type characters. So, here's to chapter 3 and not editing it. ;) Haha. -D**

I lay in my bed, feeling completely and utterly relaxed. It had been a long day and Venus had made it even longer. I stretched out and sighed, letting the heaviness leave my body. I tried to recount my events, doing my normal rounds, meeting Jada, meeting Bruce, and my tiff with Venus. She was pretty pissed at me when she left, not that I could blame her. I pissed her off often so her leaving angry didn't put me out of anything. I snuggled against my cold pillow, not even having to attempt to shut my brain off.

_The girl was shaking with fear, cowering against the wooden cabinets in a disaster of a kitchen. Her face was swollen, soaked with tears. She grasped the door, trying to pull it open. She wanted to get away from him – he was coming. His footsteps shook the floor below her. He was coming. He was on his way to get her. It was dark, but she knew he was near. She could smell the alcohol. "I can hear you breathing," he growled as she scrambled into the cabinet quietly. Her knees crammed into her chest. She tried to steady her breathing, she breathed in and out, trying to make as little noise as possible. "Holly," he sang, lightly. "Come out, Holly." He was angry. Angry that she had existed. He never wanted he and he made sure to tell her often. He stomped his foot on the floor, she flinched and sauntered against the inside of the cabinet, wishing to disappear into it. "You little cunt," he spat, "I'm going to find you." The cabinet doors were flung open one by one, until he reached hers. She yelped in fear as the door opened, a soft glow of light pouring in. "Aren't you supposed to come when your Daddy yells for you?" he screeched, pulling her out of the cabinet by her hair. She screamed, digging at his hands as he threw her against the refrigerator. Her body fell into a heap against it. "You never should have been born. I don't fucking want you!" His hand hit her hard across the face…_

"Son of a mother fucking bitch," I cursed, my body jerking upright. My t-shirt was soaked in a cold sweat. I wiped my forehead off on the back of my hand and blinked, staring at the darkness around me. I pulled the chain on the lamp beside my bed, my heart beating my chest. I pulled the 45 out from my bedside table and held it. _Not again._ I wanted to cry and whimper. I wanted to scream out as loud as I could. I held the gun steadily in my hand and threw the sheet and comforter off of my legs. Out of routine, I walked my apartment, holding the gun out before me. "He's dead," I stated out loud. "He's fucking dead. You watched him get lowered into a coffin, you watched them pour dirt it until the last bit was placed on top of that heap of shit." My nerves relaxed a bit, but not enough for me to stop checking my locks. I shook with a blinding fear that I hadn't felt in ages. _He's dead. It's alright._ "It's alright," I soothed myself, sitting down on the couch, putting the gun down on my ottoman and my hands on my face. The tears came in sudden, short bursts. I breathed in and out heavily.

I wanted a cigarette or a drink, but avoided both. I tried to avoid the things that reminded me of my father as much as possible. He just so happened to do both, heavily. I wanted to place as much distance in between us that I could, in every way. My father was a very outgoing and outrageous man. He had thousands of friends, who someone seemed oblivious to the actual raging lunatic he really was. No one ever knew about the torture he inflicted on me. No one. No one really knew until that day… That day that I tried so hard to forget about. It was the one day that I wished I could erase from my life forever. It changed me in so many ways that I never thought I would break out of it. Even my normal self was concerned with how much I detached myself from the world. I was broken for almost two straight years, hardly speaking to anyone, never doing anything outside of read up on Anatomy and study for my classes.

I rubbed my arms with my hands quickly, rising up from the couch. I grabbed the gun and returned to my bed, leaving the gun out on my actual nightstand with the light on. His face grinned at me when I shut my eyes. I cursed and mumbled, turning onto my side, staring at the blank wall. _ I wish he would leave my head and never come back. I wish I could just be normal. _I felt hot tears roll down my cheeks again.

I woke up feeling like death warmed over. My alarm gaily sang out the time. I refrained from throwing it against the wall and turned it off. It was already ten in the morning. I couldn't lie there anymore. I just couldn't. With a groan I sat up and rubbed my face, eyeballing the gun on my nightstand. I shoved it back into its drawer and shut the light off. My brain started a mental countdown until 3 in the afternoon. _Five hours until doomsday._ My cellphone buzzed wildly from my dresser. I did a double take picking it up. _20 text messages?!_ I unlocked my phone and laughed, each one was from Bruce. I read through them all, smiling at the hilarity of each. He felt the need to update me each time he had completely a request of mine. I blinked and rubbed my eyes, looking out of the window to the streets below. _Yep, same old train wreck of a city_.

I sat like a brick before the television, drinking my normal cup of coffee, letting my mind race. The news was the same as it always was. "Who is Batman?", "Where does Batman live?", "Jewelry Thieves Strike Again", "Operation: Clean Up Gotham", "Thugs Busted in a Dark Alley"…. _Blah, blah, blah._ I shut it off and stared at my clock. I had only wasted an hour. _Damn it._ I showered and brushed my teeth, dressing myself in lime green scrubs and black Birkenstocks. I smiled thinking of Gordon at the hospital and made a decision so great that I was shocked I had thought of it myself. I packed a small duffel bag with two changes of clothes, tennis shoes, and a few novels I hadn't read yet. I was going to need it if I was going to stay in Arkham for a day or two. It was a request of mine considering the staff there barely knew how to tell someone's blood pressure without needing to Google it. And even though Bane was a grade-A, classic, deranged asshole that I hated with every fiber of my being- I couldn't bear to think of his death on my conscience. I didn't want him haunting me even in his death.

I made a quick stop by a donut shop on my way to Gotham Medical, picking up five éclairs for my most favorite patient, Gordon. I sighed loudly before walking through the ruthless hallways of the hospital. I was hated by pretty much everyone, even though no one said it. It was all in the way they spoke to me and my lack of speaking with them. I only spoke with patients, superiors, patient's families, and nurses who worked with my patients. It drove the crowd that gossiped insane and I loved every second of it. I gave a half smile to each person I crossed paths with, my messenger bag flopping on my hip as I carried Gordon's treats.

I could hear Gordon talking from out in the hallway as I approached. I politely knocked on the door frame and waited for permission to enter.

"Yes, come in," Gordon spoke. I smiled like crazy as I rounded the corner, holding up the pink box from the donut shop. "Holly!" he cheered, a delighted expression on his face. A small framed man with short brown hair gave me a closed mouth smile. "I love my doctor," he sang as I placed the box in his lap. _And I love my favorite patient_. I laughed and sat on the side of his bed, pulling my messenger bag off. I watched Gordon's hands eagerly rip the box open. He made the quietest "mmm" noise as he ate a bite of one. "Jeez, my manners-" he mumbled, patting his face. "Holly, this is Blake."

"Hey Blake."

"Hi," he clipped, only smiling with his eyes.

"He's my new detective- well, new-ish," Gordon explained. "And _very_ single." My eyes popped open at the comment_. Jesus, Gordon, how much morphine are you on right now?_ I peered over at his morphine drip. All normal.

"Jesus, Gordon," Blake choked, having the same reaction that I was. Gordon made a pft noise and waved his hand at the both of us.

"No shame in trying, kid." Boyfriends were never something I maintained very well. There was my lack of intimacy, fucked up past, busy career, and lack of socialness in general that kept people away. None of those things earn you a great standing with boys. I hated that feeling like you had to share your life with someone. They could hurt you, abuse you, lie to you, change you, and you could lose them at any moment, without or without their permission. They could break you so easily. Harvey Dent always came to mind when people mentioned relationships. I saw him wasting away- this horrible look in his eye after his girlfriend died at the Joker's expense. I never wanted to feel that way. I never wanted to have anything to lose. I would live my life as a hermit, a cat lady, or that lonely old bitchy loner that everyone described as- and I would have no shame in doing so. My eyes met Blake's hand and I tried to imagine myself holding his hand. The thought made me convulse_. I so don't need this today. I'm might be cutting into someone in a few hours._ "What brings you to see this old man, Holly?" he asked, taking a sip of water.

"It's about Bane, sir." I had respect for Gordon that I was never afraid to fess up to. He helped keep Gotham free of all of the shit I hated. He let out a low whistle and ordered Blake to shut the door.

"Bruce finally got around to calling you about that, huh?" I nodded, startled to still find Blake standing there. "It's alright, Blake knows about Bruce, too." I pulled Bane's file out of my messenger bag and sat it in my lap. "My, that's grown significantly," he exclaimed, picking it up.

"I have so many questions, Gordon."

"Don't we all," he breathed, opening the file. "Ask me anything you want, dear, you know I'll answer what I can," he stated with a welcoming smile. Gordon always reminded me so much of the father I dreamed of having compared to the one I had the 'pleasure' of being 'raised' by. I could see myself coming to him with my problems, him washing off my knee after I fell, and teaching me how to ride a bike. Things that most fathers did for their daughters, not the things mine did for me. I'm sure that had Gordon been my father that my life would be the complete opposite of what it was. I'm sure that I'd be married, popping out his grandkids, and living happily without a care in the world. _Why couldn't that be my life?_

"First off, and pardon my language, but what in the fuck?" I asked, pointing to Bane's history report. Gordon laughed with Blake.

"I don't know," Gordon answered with another laugh. "Strange, huh?"

"Um, very." I leaned over the file and pointed to his affiliations. "What's the League of Shadows?" He straightened his glasses and peered at me, pushing his flopping graying hair back off of his forehead. "And the Suicide Squad?" Blake cleared his throat.

"The League is a trained group of assassins. It's kind of like a cult that was ran by Ra's al Ghul. He was killed by Bruce a long time ago. Bane and Talia, Ra's daughter, were in it before Ra's died. She and Bane both came to Gotham to wipe out the city, because they considered it to be full of deranged minds. The League was supposedly trained and taught to kill anyone who created wrong in this world," Blake answered.

"This is quite the story," I whispered, fitting the story and connections together in my head. Gordon patted my hand and squeezed it.

"Not anything you need to worry about. Why did Bruce give you this file, anyway?" Gordon asked, holding it up. I shrugged. _Like I know what the hell that man thinks._

"Maybe he thought there was medical history in it?"

"Was there?"

"Not one bit of shit was in there, except for that lovely sentence talking about when he was spotted wearing it." I stared down at the tiles on the floor. I was about to walk into a surgery blind, with absolutely no idea of what I was going to be in for. _What if he has some outstanding medical condition_? I was so royally fucked.

"Hey," Gordon whispered. I refocused my attention on him. "You're a smart girl, Holly. There's nothing you can't overcome. I can guarantee that." I found myself smiling at him. He returned the smile and squeezed my hand again.


	4. Chapter 4: Purple Mist

**Thank you for the support! This isn't edited – as usual, haha. :) - D**

I walked towards Arkham with a hesitation. _What if we didn't learn anything from this? What if he was just wearing a mask for theatrics? _I exhaled. _This needs to be done, regardless. It's too late turn around. _Walking into the asylum I met the two guards who escorted me to the Infirmary the day before. My hands fiddled with the straps on my messenger bag as we walked. I had enough time to tighten the strap and before I knew it we were there. _Was that walk shorter this time?_ I glanced behind us then in front of us as we turned the corner. My eyes widened at the sight inside of the Infirmary. _What the hell?_ The Infirmary was brimming with people. At least 20 - maybe more. Each one was wearing scrubs, chatting and interacting with each other with huge cheery smiles. Just watching them gave me a twinge of anxiety in my gut. I hated ass kissing. _I am running this show. I make the shots. I can be ruthless. No need to be friendly._ I entered after a guard unlocked the door for me.

"Here she is," Bruce cheered, wrapping an arm around my shoulder, pulling me into the shark pool with him. Selina narrowed her eyes as I looked at the faces around me. _I didn't ask for this shit_. I narrowed my eyes back for a brief second. "Holly, this is everyone," he joked, gesturing to the people surrounding us. He told me each of their names, but I wasn't listening. Each name briefly entered my mind, just long enough for me to hear it before it casually slipped out. I didn't care to know them anyway. I smiled politely, not wanting to seem totally heartless.

"How's Bane?" I asked, as everyone fell back into mum conversation, realizing that I wasn't up for chatting. My eyes glanced at the vault door.

"Unconscious in the makeshift OR," Lucius stated, walking up to us from in between two staff members. His caramel colored skin had a beautiful contrast against his sea green colored scrubs, his honey brown eyes crinkling as he smiled at me. If I had to choose another dream dad, aside from Gordon, it had to be Lucius Fox. "Took almost three horse tranquilizers, but we knocked him out." He gave me a grin that I could only classify as mischievous.

"That's all?" I asked jokingly. Lucius and Bruce both gave a laugh.

"I think Lucius enjoyed it too much. He had this priceless look on his face the entire time. I wish I could have recorded it," Bruce added.

"I don't know why I haven't dabbled much in medical science," Lucius said, as if he were only speaking to himself. I never understood that either, the knee replacements that he designed for Bruce were exquisite. "Everyone always whines to me about how amazing my job must be, I can finally tell them about one that's even better than mine." He patted my shoulder lightly.

"Surgery and the medical field, in general, is very exciting," I agreed_. It's a fucking rush._ Holding a life in your hands, repairing a body to make it work again, the complexity, the simplicity…. My job never got old. There was always something new and different to do. _Like operating on maniacs who wear masks._ I pulled the messenger bag off of my shoulder and held it in the same hand as my duffel bag. "Where is my room that I requested?" I just needed a moment alone. There were so many people in that Infirmary, it was making my head spin.

"Room two. Room one is the operating room, Selina and I are in room three, Lucius is in room four, and the recovery room has been designated to room five," Bruce answered, directing me down a hallway to the left of the nurse's station. There were five other rooms heading the opposite way. _We're having a sleepover in an asylum, who knew!? _I inched my way through the horde of people and passed by room one, staring at the number on the door.

I opened the door to room two and stopped in the door way. Bruce had brought in actual beds, dressers, and mini-fridges. I rolled my eyes and sat my bags down on the bed. _Brand new linens too?_ I shook my head and glanced at my watch. _2:50_. I pulled out the bottles of water I brought and opened the mini-fridge. My eyes grew at the unexpected surprise: cans of coke, bottles of water, containers of fruits, and sandwiches. _Damn, Bruce_. I shoved the bottles in next to the other ones and retrieved my faithful yellow star patterned scrub cap with a black background. I sat down on the edge of the bed, rubbing the fabric in between my hands. I closed my eyes for a moment, calming my nerves. It was time to put my gear on and head into battle. I was going to be in charge of someone's life in about ten minutes. I let the rush ease itself down my body, all the way down to my toes. Calmly, I ran by the steps in my mind: _get the mask off, get him on oxygen, assess his situation or situations, get him x-rays, reconstruct what I can, close him up, and get him into recovery_. _I hope it's not a lost cause_. Bruce had a cadaver ready in the morgue in case I had to do a complete face transplant. I was hoping I wasn't going to have to. I hated face transplants. My palms beaded with sweat at the thought. _It'll be okay._ I pulled the scrub cap over my tight bun and stood. _It'll be okay. It's just another person. Right? _

When I finally decided to face the music, I was met with a joyful Bruce, already in his gown. A nurse held open a gown for me and stood before me, silently insisting I put it on. "I need to wash my hands first," I told her, trying my best not to sound rude.

"You can over here," called out a voice. There were way too many people. It was wearing on my already thin nerves. I stalked through the crowd, clenching and unclenching my jaw. I scrubbed my hands with anger, washing all the way up to my elbows. I could feel them all breathing down my neck. A pair of hands thrusted a roll of paper towels into my face as I pushed the faucet off with my elbow. My brow furrowed as I snatched them without a thank you. The same pushy nurse met me with the gown as I turned around_. I know I need to put a fucking gown on._ I put my arms through it and had a different pair of hands help shove my gloves on. _This enthusiasm was going to kill me._ Room one opened for me as I approached the door. Pulling my face mask on, I stared at the motionless Bane, unable to take my eyes off of him. Some deep part of me thought he was going to wake up at any moment and start wailing on us all. The state he was in didn't look right for a man of his size. They had tried to find the biggest bed manageable for him, but it still wasn't big enough. I took a quick glance of the people in the room, two assistants, two back-up assistants, the anesthesiologist, and Bruce Wayne. _Wait, Bruce Wayne?_ I raised an eyebrow at him as I stepped up to Bane. The only noise was the soft hum of the machines and the rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor.

"Is it alright if I stay?" Bruce asked quietly, as if Bane were just sleeping and not knocked unconscious from three horse tranquilizers.

"I don't see why I not," I answered with a shrug. Had he been all 'amazing' to me, like most women thought he was, I probably would have said no, just because I wouldn't want the distraction. _Thank God I'm not most women_. I cracked my knuckles and leaned my head back, rotating it on my neck. It was show time.

"Diamond blade," I requested, holding my hand out as I stared down at the mask. Lucius had requested that we use a few of his new inventions in this surgery. I didn't thank anyone as the wand was placed in my hand. It was a long wand with a diamond like saw coming out of it. It looked violent, all serrated and gleaming under the light above us. I held the blade against the mask, just at the upward turn of Bane's jaw. "Get suction and gauze ready," I ordered. _ Because, I have no fucking idea what Pandora 's Box we're about to open, ladies – and Bruce. _

"It's supposed to be like a saw," Bruce whispered. "Press the red button down." There was an audible click as I pushed it in. It made a soft humming noise, blending in with the rest of the medical equipment. The blade moved back and forth wildly. I definitely didn't want to be on the receiving end of it. I inhaled deeply and pushed it against the mask. It met some resistance, creating a snarling metallic noise. I pushed the blade on it with greater force. _Come on you piece of shit._ I watched, very carefully as the blade ripped into the metal. Steadying a hand on the mask below where I was cutting, I waited to feel the break. I didn't want to do any unnecessary surgery all because I got carried away with the diamond blade. I felt the crack of the mask under my hand as it made it through the metal, my reflexes pulled the blade away immediately.

"It worked," I stated, moving out of the way for Bruce to see. _This might actually be fun. De-masking someone who had been hidden away for so long._ I walked to the other side of Bane and cut the mask in the same place, knowing what to expect this time, I was actually able to breathe. My eyes studied the rest of the mask, inspecting each visible crevice and tube. I tapped my chin and walked to the head of the table, staring down Bane's scarred body. I had no choice but to cut through the tubing on the top of the mask that lead to the tubes of Bane's mouth and nose. "Prep the oxygen machine and mask, because we're about to head into the storm," I warned. Shuffling occurred behind me as I spoke. "Bruce, you'll pull the mask off, and then someone will put the mask over his face immediately." I held in another breath as I cut through the tubing. Bane's chest seized after the tubes were cut. "Bruce," I cracked, exhaling before pulling in another breath. He put his hands on the mask. "Oxygen, ready?" I sucked in even more air, steadying my wits. A pair of hands with the oxygen mask appeared beside Bane's head. "Go." Bruce pulled it off quickly, revealing the familiar face from the mug shot in his file. A large scar had been ripped down his face, passing along the side of his nose, stopping just before his lips. The heart monitor beeped crazily. I released my breath. _Damn it._ "Push epinephrine and morphine, now." An assistant fumbled as she added the medicine to his line. His heart slowed a bit, but not enough.

"Push more!" I barked. There was a noise that sounded like an airy cough. We all looked at each other. Bruce was holding the mask in his hands, staring at it, a purple mist floated out and into his face. I peered down and watched the same mist disperse around the room. _What the fuck?_ The nurse looked at me, not moving- Bruce started coughing, hunching over as he breathed in the mist. We all stared at him, unmoving. Bane's heart monitor chirped like mad. "Push epinephrine until his heart slows," I ordered, casting a glare at the nurse. She hesitated. "Don't make me ask you again," I growled. She jumped and set to work. "That needs analyzed immediately," I warned Bruce as he continued to cough. "Take it to Venus Thomas at Craft Laboratories." She might have been pissed at me, but she was the only one I knew of that could get the results of it quickly. "We have any biohazard containers in here?" I asked, glancing around the room. A nurse came shuffling in from my side, clutching a sealable box. She assisted Bruce and held the box as if it were a dead rat.

"We can take my helicopter," he choked.

"I need to know what's in it, the levels, the compounds, everything." He only nodded, coughing into his hand. _Someone get this man an oxygen tank._

"I'll be back," he spoke, roughly.

"Tell Lucius to bring in the x-ray machine, please." He nodded again as he opened the door. I got a glimpse at the horde of people staring in- all wanting to catch Bane – unmasked. It almost sounded like a horror movie_. This is a horror movie_. Lucius walked in seconds later, wheeling in a large metal tube.

"This is new," he stated, rolling it up to Bane's body. _Of course it is._ "What do you need images of?"

"His chest, neck, and head. I'll decide on others after I see what we're dealing with- if anything."

"Yes, of course." He raised his hand to a nurse, wheeling the tube over Bane's chest. "Can you turn on that monitor please, Carla?" he asked her. _Carla? Oh – right – Lucius must actually be nice to strangers._ The nurse flipped a large computer monitor to the right of her. He took pictures of Bane, rolling the tube to the wall after he finished. I held my hand on Bane's oxygen mask gingerly, staring as the images loaded on the monitor. His survivability didn't just rely on the mask- it relied on the network inside of him. I gaped, feeling my jaw go slack. _Fuck me blind. I never expected this._ I stared at the large scar on his face that I knew wrapped down his back. _That's what that was for_. Gordon's voice and words of encouragement echoed in my mind. "That's a sight," Lucius whistled. _Yep._

"I know," I sighed. _Think. Think. Think. What can I do with this? Close it off? Leave it? No, I can't leave it._

"What are you going to do?" _Is banging my head against the wall an option?_

"Wait for Bruce? Maybe there's-" I stopped, staring at the tubes inside of Bane's chest on the x-ray. The intricate cylinders holding God only knew what inside of him. "I don't fucking know." I had never seen anything like that in my life. It was never supposed to come out of his body, it was meant to stay there. I stared at the clock on the wall, willing it to tick by faster…


	5. Chapter 5: Scopolamine

**I realize that the "oxygen machine" should probably be a ventilator… that's a my bad. :) Haha. I promise he'll wake up soon. I wanted the story to make some sense and wanted you to be familiar with the main character. No edits. Just writing. - D**

Ten minutes before Venus and Bruce arrived, I was close to forming a search party to find them. It had been a little over an hour since he had left to have the chemical analyzed. Venus busted through the door, her hair a crazy frizzy ball on her head, the gown loosely tied around her neck. Her cheeks were a vibrant red color. _Bruce_… In her hands she was clutching a packet of paper, stapled together neatly. "I'm here," she breathed, shaking the packet in the air. "I don't quite understand all of these, but-" she took a deep breath and hunched over. _No theatrics right now, please._

"Just tell me," I ordered, making my eyes as steely as possible. Bruce stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him. He pulled the packet from her hands and looked at me.

"It's got peptides, proteins, penotothal sodium, scopolamine, testosterone, erythropoietin, calcium, aldosterone, zinc, magnesium, anabolic steroids, and hydromorphone," he rambled. _Hydromorphone?! That's stronger than morphine! _I nodded as Venus caught her breath and peered up at me.

"We need all of those things and we need them now." I tried to keep my anxiety under control. No one likes an anxious surgeon. _Just chill._

"I'll go to the drug room," Bruce muttered, quickly disappearing before I could say anything. I listed through the ingredients in my head… _Penotothal sodium as in the truth serum? And scopolamine? The mind control serum? Oh, no, what have we gotten ourselves into? _I breathed in and out, steadying myself against the operating table. We all listened as Bruce yelled for people to move, wheeling the drug cart into the OR. He pushed his hair back and gawked at me.

"I need you to tell me what you want me to do."

"About what?"

"Look at the x-rays," I told him, gesturing to the monitor. He turned to look and gaped, just as I had, his mouth dropping open.

"What is that?" he asked, lowly, walking over to get closer. I shrugged.

"I have no idea."

"What can we do?" I let out a long gust of air. "Can we remove it?"

"I believe so," I answered.

"Do it," he ordered as he turned back around to look at me. Seems like we're about to get dirty after all.

"Venus, mix up a cocktail of the drugs and put it on a drip. I need you to make as many as you can after the first one, but please leave out the scopolamine, it's not necessary." She nodded and set to work, pulling open the drug cart, sifting through the medicines. "Bruce, you need to get people gowned up outside. We're going to have to flip him over and he's about 300 pounds." Bruce gave me a curt nod and set back outside.

"Anything I can help with?" Lucius asked, stepping out from behind me. I had totally forgot that he was standing back there.

"Oh, no… I think I have this." He smiled and lightly patted my shoulder.

"Mind if I stay?"

"Feel free," I replied, giving him a smile. I returned back to guarding the oxygen mask, standing stone cold over Bane. I was used to it. Venus worked fast out of the corner of my eye, I could see her hands flicking and moving as she dumped each medicine into a bag. The door opened and Bruce stepped in with 7 people.

"I'm done," Venus chirped, rising up from the stool she was sitting on. I knew I had called on her for a reason. I smiled at her from behind my ask, not attempting to say a thank you.

"Connect that to his line, please," I asked in an authoritative tone. She rushed to Bane's side and did just that. His heartbeat steadied into a rhythm for the first time since we had taken his mask off. _Thank you, thank you, thank you_. "Everyone grab a side and we'll flip him towards Bruce." The assistants stepped forward with the volunteers, every pair of hands grabbing some part of Bane. "We'll flip on three." I stared each person in the eyes, trying to find the weak link- I couldn't find one, thankfully. "Ready?" There was a unanimous 'yeah.' "One- two- three." With a grunt I helped lift and turn him onto his stomach, exposing the huge scar down his back. The tubing that led to the mask from inside of his body stuck out just at the base of his neck. _Oh, gross_. If I hadn't been used to seeing fucked up shit like that, I might have fainted. "Nice job," I whispered, trying not to be too friendly_. I'm still the boss._ "Everyone that was brought in by Bruce can leave now." I got a few scowls as the people left. _Whatever._

I rolled my neck from side to side, stretching my arms and shoulders. It was time for the fun part- the part that I always got a kick out of. I could feel the problems and stress of the day slipping from my mind, pushing everything, including my past out of focus. I was in complete control of my body. "Betadine," I started, holding out my hand for the brush. I took it and spattered the orange disinfectant along his back and neck, making sure to cover any visible part of his backside. I was cautious like that. I handed the brush back and left my hand out. "Scalpel." The metal was cold, but welcoming in my hand. I took a quick glance at the x-ray again and measured over from his spine to the middle of where the cylinder should be. I gently pressed the blade into Bane's skin, a pool of blood pooling in its wake. "Retractor." The device was placed into Bane's incision, cranking him wide open. "Suction and gauze." Two pairs of hands worked feverously to pack his incision. We were met with one tube and a large metal cylinder.

I reached in and felt my hands around the cylinder, praying that the cylinder wasn't connected to anything major. There were only bits of connective tissue that had grown around it, but nothing major. I wrapped my hands around the cylinder and pulled it out, the tube still poking out of the top of it. "Bruce, can you use the diamond blade, please?" He turned it on and sliced through it, freeing Bane of one device. _One down. One to go_. Mist dispersed throughout the room again, a few people coughed as they breathed it in. The same nurse from earlier held a biohazard container open beside me. I happily dropped it inside and pulled the strand of tubing from out of Bane's back, slowly. A hole was left in his head from the tube. "Pack that," I ordered. I walked to the other side and prepared to take out the second device. "Someone close him up on that side." A nurse stepped up in my place and began preparations for sealing his wound as I cut above the second cylinder.

"I have a new serum that I would like to test that I tried on Bruce," Lucius interjected as I minded my hands. I rolled my eyes. I might have respected Lucius, but he was driving me crazy. "It's a serum that heals scarring. It helps new skin breakdown and heal scar tissue without leaving any scar tissue behind." I raised my head, my eyebrow raised along with it. He pulled it out of his lab coat and held it up for me to see. It was a beige colored liquid, the consistency resembling glue.

"I don't mind_." It wasn't my fucking body. Or my idea to do this in the first place_. Lucius smiled widely at me as I dipped my head back down to my work. I hadn't had to say a word, someone had already packed in gauze and put the retractor in the second incision. _Strong work._ The second device came out easily. "We have plates and screws and all that kind of shit in here, right?" I asked, holding my bloodied hands on my hips.

"Yeah," answered a voice from the corner of the room.

"Bring it over here." The woman rushed over holding different sized plates with a small pan of screws in her hands. I held each one up, scrutinizing it, trying to find an appropriate size for the hole. I found one that was a two inch wide square. I handed her back the other plates and walked back over to Bane. I placed the plate and the dish down on a covered table and sighed. This was turning out to be much worse than anticipated. _We're preventing another city wide hostage situation. We're almost done_. I pulled and cut a flap of skin back off of his head from around where the tubing was. An assistant suctioned out the area before I sat the plate down over the hole in his skull, using the steadiest of motions, I readied a screw in my hand. I stared at the drill I was about to use and winced internally. "Push another load of morphine in, too. This isn't like being tickled." I heard someone laugh. Heat rose over my body. I bit my tongue as hard as I could.

"Knock it off," Bruce barked. _Thank you._ I shut my eyes. _You can't fuck this up. His brain is there. His brain. Don't drill too far. It's his brain_. I calmly and carefully held the screw down over the plate.

"Drill. Now." I held out my left hand as I held the screw steady with my right. I gripped it tightly as it was placed in my hand, noticing a few people looked away as I aimed the drill for the screw. I held my breath and listened to the shrill sound of metal gnawing through bone. _One down. Three to go_. The next three screws were less painful than the first, I wanted to sing a praise and clap my hands that I was finally done. "Close him up and push another round of meds." I wiped the sweat off of my forehead with the sleeve of my gown, taking in the success of the scar serum that Lucius had created. I could barely see the scar going down Bane's spine. I couldn't even tell where I had cut into his back.

"Anything else?" asked a voice.

"Clean off the betadine, flip him over, strap him up, and put him in the recovery room. We'll take shifts watching over him. I'll make up some schedule here in a few." I looked up at the group of them and felt my inner leader rip out of its usual coma. "Nice work today," I mumbled after a beat. A few people clapped as I left the room. _That was a surprise. See? I'm not __**that **__heartless_.

The hype in the Infirmary had certainly died down from earlier. I was grateful. I couldn't deal with that crowd again. I pulled my gown, and gloves off, shoving them into a biohazard bag someone was smart enough to set up by the door. My booties and face mask were the last to come off. I scanned the room, taking note of the few people huddled up talking and Selina standing alone, slumped against the wall, mindlessly watching television. I found Venus at the nurse's station, mixing more bags together for Bane. She had made five already. The liquid in the bag was the same purple color as the mist. I hadn't noticed that before.

"Hey," I greeted, walking over to her.

"Hello," she mumbled, not taking her eyes off of the syringe she was using.

"Thanks for helping." It felt so awkward coming out of my mouth, but I knew she needed to hear it.

"No problem." A large smile formed on her face. _Oh, please, like I don't ever say thank you_. I heard footsteps approach us and turned to greet the person.

"Thank you both," related Bruce with a smile.

"Any time," Venus sang, her face flushing. _It's just Bruce. Get control of your ovaries, woman_.

"Anything to save a city," I clipped.

"So, I have an idea, but Venus may know more about it-" she giggled, then coughed when she saw that I was scowling. "-do you think we could give him a formula like this and slowly work him off of it?" he asked, picking up a purple bag.

"Why?" I asked, defensively. _He's normal looking now. You got what you wanted. He may need medicine to stay alive for the rest of his life… poor Bane_.

"I want him to be normal."

"He is normal."

"Not with _this_," he argued, slightly shaking the bag.

"Millions of Americans take medicine every day to stay alive. Some of them even have to take medicines two to three times a day," I quipped, folding my arms across my chest. Bruce's face became icy. He glowered at me, mirroring me by setting the bag down and crossing his arms.

"That's not normal. I want him to function on his own." _Oh, you are infuriating. And women think you're so perfect. They're all fucking blind._

"Why?" I cried out, almost yelling. I felt every eye in the room land on me. Great.

"That scopolamine wasn't in that serum just because someone liked the way the name sounded, Holly." His voice had dropped into a low tone that was dangerous and throaty. _You've never met a normal woman, then Bruce. Women do weird shit all of the time_. We stared at each other intensely, neither one of us backing down.

"Bruce does have a point," Venus chimed. _You would take his side_. I flicked my eyes down to her then back to Bruce.

"Who in their right mind would control another human like that?" _Aside from my own father?_

"Talia," Bruce answered quietly. _Talia al Ghul?_ My brain replayed Blake's explanation of The League of Shadows.

"That woman from Bane's file?" I questioned, cocking my head to the side.

"Wait!" Venus screeched. "That's Bane in there?!" See? He's not that perfect now is he?

"Yes," Bruce returned in a calm and collected voice. It was daylight compared to the tone he had used with me moments before.

"You mean we just-" _Hi, Venus, welcome back to life. We've missed you and we'd like to show you what you've been a part of for the last two hours while you were too busy thinking about fucking Bruce._ She stared at my blankly. _Yep._

"I would hope that this information remained confidential," he warned. Venus swallowed and nodded, looking up at her 'dream boy.'

"Yes, it will, sir," she assured him. _She'd do anything for you, trust me._

"So, Venus- can you make a serum for Bane? I need one that he will eventually be able to stop taking. Can you do that?"

"Yes."

"Great!" A shit-eating grin spread across his face. "I'll go grab Lucius and you two can get started immediately."


	6. Chapter 6: 2008

**Saddle up and get ready! Shit is about to hit the fan! No edits. **

**B4tmans – Thank you :) My first few chapters that I had originally written were pretty awful, so I'm quite sure that has a bit to deal with it. :) But, I appreciate it, reading what you sent me only makes me want to write faster.**

**Splishbloom – No offense taken. :) I know the first write was pretty difficult to read.**

**& here we go… less talking, more reading, right? - D**

Two days passed and Bane was still unconscious. I hadn't slept, but maybe for two hours right after his surgery and a few small naps. It wasn't relaxing sleep. I missed my bed, I missed my own shower, and I hated looking out and seeing Arkham past the plexi-glass wall of the Infirmary- all of its dingy walls and deranged individuals. I sat like a log in the waiting room area, Selina slumped over in the same fashion as me. She was afraid to leave Bruce alone with Venus, at least that's what I gathered from her round the clock stay there. I couldn't see any other reason why she would stay in a damn place like that, especially seeing as she was dating a billionaire. My fist was under my jaw, holding my head up as I listened to Venus and Lucius joke about the name for the serum they had created for Bane. _Venom inhibitor. Wow_. They were beyond slap happy. I glanced up at the clock. It was already nearing midnight. _Damn. Almost another full day of an unconscious Bane._ I rubbed my face and pushed my hair back.

A door from down the hallway clicked shut, it took my attention away from the hilarity around me. I glanced up and watched a nurse that was on her shift walk away from Bane's room. _ I haven't made a medical form for him yet_. _He really needs one in that phone book of a file- if they can add anything to it_. I rose up from the chair and carried myself to his room, just wanting to do something to occupy my mind. I had tried reading my novels with no success. Each sentence just seemed like a block of words. I couldn't stop worrying that I had hit something major in his brain when I was drilling. Damn, did I hate messing with people's brains. _I'm not a neurosurgeon for a reason!_ I closed Bane's door quietly, taking a seat in the chair beside his bed, just listening to the steady beep of his heart monitor. _Silence_. I smiled and closed my eyes, resting my hands in the armrests of the chair for a second…

_She was running through the field, her hands grazing the tops of the wheat grass, the sun warming her skin in the most pleasant way, a large, goofy smile on her face. No noise, no stress, no people… She laughed and ran faster, running from the pain and mundane workings of her everyday life. A voice called out to her, her pace slowed as she tried to focus on the voice. Her eyebrows scrunched together as she scanned the field, it called to her again…_

My body jerked awake, something wasn't right. I felt the adrenaline pump itself through my system. _That wasn't a bad dream!_

"TALIA!" yelled a raspy, deep voice. I stared wide eyed at the man in the bed beside me. Bane was thrashing, his body straining against the restraints on the bed. _Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!_ "Where is Talia?!" he yelled at me, his face a deep red color as he pulled on the restraints again. I jumped up out of the chair, my brain spinning as I tried to think of something to do. "Where is she!?" He grunted loudly, sweat dripping down his face. _Um, I don't know? I just woke up! Cut me a fucking break!_

"Bruce!" I yelled, screaming with Bane. "Bruce!" I opened the drug cart beside me and pulled out a syringe of Lithium and stabbed it into his leg. _Fuck proper procedures right now!_

"What is that?! What are you doing to me!?" I pushed the syringe down.

"Helping you," I breathed. _And helping me. I think my heart is about to jump out of my throat right now!_

"No!" he screamed through a sob, his lip quivering as I stepped away from him. Bruce flung the door open, panic on his face. I held onto the wall with a death grip, bracing myself against it. Bruce looked at me, then at the syringe sticking out of Bane's leg. Bane slumped against the wall, his anxious expression slowly dropping into a relaxed one. I took a deep breath and held my hands on my knees_. Christ, what a way to wake up._ "Where is Talia?" he asked, his voice quiet and subdued. Bruce sat down in the chair I was sleeping in and held an iPad up in his hands. Bane stared at it, his face contorted up in an expression I couldn't understand_. Is that sadness and fear? Whoa! Fuck me running, I thought I'd never see the day- Bane, afraid and crying._

Bruce cleared his throat and smoothed his hair back. Bane's blue eyes were brimming with tears. _What is this? What the hell? _I leaned against the wall, wrapped in my own confusion, confused as to the emotions he was displaying and still a mess from the way I was woken up. "Did I fail the league? Did the serum fail?" He blinked and looked over to me, his eyebrows threaded together. Tears rolled down his cheeks slowly. _Okay then…_ I blinked and broke eye contact. _Not today. No awkward eye contact for me. No thank you_. I stared at the crook of Bruce's knee, not even daring to face Bruce either. "Please, just tell me what's happened," he pleaded, his voice cracking.

"Talia's dead, Bane," Bruce spoke calmly with a firm tone. I didn't dare look up, I listened to him sob quietly, the restraints clanking as he shook.

"No," he whispered. His voice cracked as he sobbed. "No."

"I watched her die with my own eyes." _ Can I just leave now? I don't need to be here. I don't need to hear this._ He screamed loudly, viciously, and I remembered who he was compared to the man that was just sobbing a second ago.

"I'm so sorry, Talia," he sobbed. I dared to look up, his head was hung, tears wetting the thin white sheet that was covering his lower body. The pain in his voice felt so third world. I remembered his dramatic speech as he stood on a taxi cab, the one that was played and replayed all over the news. He didn't sound like that deep of a person with the mask on, he didn't seem like he experienced anything beyond anger. "I was supposed to protect her-"

"You did," Bruce stated calmly. He watched Bane carefully, studying him. "What's the last thing you remember, Bane? You don't remember the conversation you had with her? Her leaving you with me and the bomb?" He stared at Bruce quizzically.

"What bomb?" he asked in a scoff. "I've never seen you before." Bruce looked dumbfounded. He sat for a minute and looked over at me again. _Um, yeah, talk about memory loss. I've heard of memory issues after scopolamine, but seriously? Did I drill too far? Yeah, cerebellums don't hold memories, idiot. It's not my fault._ I breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's typical of the scopolamine," I explained, swallowing as I looked over at Bane again. "Sometimes there are memory issues."

"Scopolamine?" Bane questioned. He looked away for a second, staring at empty space. "So, they did inject me with the serum."

"And you knew they put scopolamine in it?" asked Bruce, flicking through some things on his iPad. _Typical men- can't stop playing with their toys for two seconds. Even in the middle of serious conversation. That's what's wrong with men in America today._

"No," Bane replied, shaking his head. "I had no idea what was in it."

"But, you took it anyway?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow up at him.

"When Ra's al Ghul wants you to do something, you do it," he clipped, his eyebrows dropping into that familiar angry expression. _Jesus, calm down. I wondered where you were hiding in there. _

"Do you want to see the video?" Bruce held the iPad up, the screen displaying a grainy image of a dark haired woman holding Bane's cheek. "I can show it to you and you'll see you died doing just what she asked you to." Bane looked from me to Bruce, then to the iPad before giving a short, curt nod. Bruce pressed the screen, allowing the video to play. I could only assume it was from the Batsuit. I had no idea he had on-board recording like that. I listened with my head down. The conversation was- different to say the least. I soon discovered the woman in the video, was in fact, Talia al Ghul, the brains behind the entire operation. I also discovered that Bane had sworn himself to her during his time in The Pit. He joined The League and was thrown out shortly after his transformation- well, I was just damn right confused, this woman loved Bane and controlled him at the same time? _Mind fuck_. I could sympathize, but to an extent. _My father never loved me or even claimed to. At least she had said it, even if the bitch was lying_. With a quick swipe, Bruce played the ever famous taxi cab speech. Bane's disdain was apparent as he watched it, the disgust writing itself all over his face. I straightened against the wall and watched him stare at the iPad long after the video had ended.

"I don't remember anything," Bane admitted, his voice sounding hollow. Bruce nodded, turning the iPad off.

"Maybe that's not such a bad thing," I whispered, trying not to be heard. I couldn't hold my tongue anymore. _I would love to forget the shit that happened to me. The shit that I was made to do. I wish I could have blamed it on fucking scopolamine. I wish I could have just woken up in the hospital going 'oh, who am I?' and 'what's happened?' so everyone could lie to me out of pity for what really happened. Maybe I would have been normal. But, that was the past. _Jealous ate away at my insides. He had no idea how good he had it.

"Perhaps not," he whispered back, slumping against the bed.

"So, you're not a deranged lunatic?" I asked, curiously. He laughed slightly, a smile encompassing his face, eyes scrunching up. _Different_. I studied him, looking at the face that hid behind the mask for so many years. The serum Lucius had applied to the scars was working, you could barely see the scar on his face.

"No, I'm not disturbed."

"I'm not convinced," clipped Bruce. _Whoa, Mr. I'm-All-For-Making-Him-Normal-And-Giving-Him-A-Chance_. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"He's received a good amount of pentothal sodium, Bruce, he couldn't lie about what color the fucking sky was right now." I crossed my arms and settled into the wall. _Talk about the tides changing- did I just defend Bane? Ugh. I need sleep. _"What year is it, Bane?"

"2008," he answered without missing a beat.

"2012."

"Four years? It's been four years?" The contempt in his voice made me smirk. _Well, no offense to you, __**Bane**__, but you were a serious ass before this surgery, so I'm not going to feel 100% bad for you yet._ _You missed four years of your life? Poor you. There were people out there dead, because of you. You ass._ His fists clenched and unclenched. "I can't believe-"

"Yeah, save it," I quipped, holding my hand up. _Sleep, now. Just quit the talking_. He gaped at me. "Explain to me why Ra's made you undergo this surgery. He obviously wasn't too proud of the outcome if he kicked you out shortly after." _Seriously, what was up with that?_ I felt like I was in way too deep. I didn't know anything about any of this before Bruce fell into my office, telling me who he was and then it was all- secret missions, secret gadgets, and villains. Not exactly a part of my everyday life. If Bruce was mad I was interrogating his new pet, he should have picked another surgeon.

"I was in a lot of physical pain when I was broken out of The Pit," he explained slowly. "I had been beaten pretty badly in prison after Talia escaped. Ra's said he had a way to make me stronger and so that I would never feel physical pain again. I agreed to it. I was willing to do anything I could not to feel that way again."

"Ever have any issues with anger before?" I questioned, feeling just like Jada. _Am I really asking questions like a therapist right now? I've had enough experience with one to take on a new profession if I wished to_. _Not that I can handle anyone else's issues on top of mine._

"A few, but-" he breathed and closed his eyes. "I had no idea. I had absolutely no idea and have no recollection of what happened to me after I agreed to have the mask put on. I remember speaking with Talia and-" his voice cracked again, tears falling from his eyes again. "I can't believe she's gone," he sighed. _Oh, enough. Honestly? That woman had some fucking issues and you want to feel sorry for her? I don't care how deep your love went for someone, there were some things that were unforgivable._

"Obviously she wasn't as innocent as she once was. I didn't even know her and could gather how fucked up she was in that short video," I snapped. He glowered at me.

"You didn't know her," he growled, lowly. I raised an eyebrow. _A challenge? At 3 in the morning? I'll take it. _I was tired, cranky, and finally able to relax knowing he was awake. He was no longer my problem. He had recovered. Any normal doctor could take it from there.

"No, you're right, I didn't know her, but it doesn't take an Engineering and Medical degree to see how fucking twisted her views were." I waited a beat and looked to a shell-shocked Bruce before turning back to Bane. _Didn't anyone hear the truth anymore? Was everyone that afraid to speak?_ _Not me. Not anymore. I had held my tongue long enough the last three days._ "Not that yours were any better. You put a _**whole fucking city**_ in the middle of a war! You released prisoners on innocent people, all of the rapists and murders out to roam freely and do as they pleased. That was your idea of a salvation?! Are _you_ fucking stupid?! Are you seriously _that_ stupid?! You were an educated man, Bane! You went to college, had no prior issues with the law before…" I felt the anger boil in my blood. The anger about the entire situation. Gordon laying in the hospital again. Small children walking the halls of the hospital with cuts and bruises, their parents missing… Bane dropped his head.

"Oh, no, you don't get to be fucking sorry now!" I screamed, pointing a finger at him. I felt disrespected. Bane not looking at me angered me more. I knew who it reminded me of in that moment, but I was past caring about that. "You look at me when I am talking to you! Especially about this!" I yelled again. He brought his eyes to mine. "You have no idea what you've done to this city, the pain you put people through! The lives you took! I don't give a shit if you remember or not, Bane. You are so lucky and should sing praise to every known religion that Bruce has given you this chance to re-live your life. I would have preferred to have killed you in that OR."

"I apologize," he spoke, his voice sounding muffled. "I honestly have no recollection of what I was doing or what happened to me."

"Even if you could, there would be nothing you could say to fix the situation, you demented piece of shit." I clenched my jaw, my fists tightening. He clenched his jaw and looked down. I breathed in and out a few times, trying to calm the inner beast that I had unleashed. _You've spoken your peace. It's time to leave. The deed is done_. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Bruce," I spoke, harshly, making it apparent that I was not giving any respect to Bane. "He is alive and healthy, I told you I was finished with this after he recovered, and I'm keeping my word." Bruce merely nodded. "I would give you a recommendation to a doctor in this situation, but you're a big old billionaire and I'm sure you are more than capable of finding one on your own. So-" I looked between the two of them. "Good fucking day," I spat, turning on my heel.

I entered the hallway, slamming the door behind me. Venus, Lucius, and Selina had crowded around the door. _What no bravo or encore? Whatever._ Selina was staring at me wide-eyed, Lucius was staring at the floor, and Venus just had her normal expression on her face. She was used to me. I walked to my room, thrust the door open and packed my bags in a hurry. _The nerve of him. The nerve of that man. Even after knowing what he knew, he still felt pity for someone so willing to destroy an entire city! Not everyone in this city is corrupt! Maybe he wasn't innocent as he was seeming. Perhaps Bruce was right, maybe there was a flaw with the pentothal sodium. _I just wanted to get out. I left quickly, leaving Arkham without an escort. Some small part of me wanted a fight. I wanted someone to cross me and a psycho would have been perfect- at least I would know that I wouldn't look crazy compared to them.


	7. Chapter 7: Mr Summer

**This chapter gets graphic. Forewarning now. I started a tumblr. MAJOR mistake. It's been interfering with writing all day today! Damn you, Tom Hardy. :) Haha. And here we go… Enjoy. ;) **

**I know the main character seems heartless and cruel, so I'm including a small glimpse into her past this chapter, hopefully you'll understand why Holly is the way she is after this chapter.**

**TWO updates in ONE day. My brain is buzzing. Haha.**

**Thank you so much for the reviews and follows! (No edits, as usual!) - D**

I sat on the bench just outside of the hospital, eating my apple, enjoying the spring air on my break. I didn't really like eating inside in the lounges with the gossiping crowd. I usually ate with Gordon, but he had been released a few weeks prior. It had been almost three months since my incident at the asylum. I smoothed a wild piece of hair behind my ear and opened my newspaper in my lap, somehow having the coordination to handle it one handed even with a slight spring breeze. _Oh, but it feel amazing. The wind in my hair, the birds chirping and - sirens going off? _I turned and looked at the three ambulances swarming into the emergency bay before returning to my relaxing fifteen minutes. _At least I'm outside. No freaky business to deal with today. _

I hadn't heard a word from Bruce and I was grateful. _It's not like he doesn't have resources to find a doctor for himself, too. _ I did receive an overly extravagant invitation to a birthday party for Bruce that I promptly threw in the trash the minute I opened it. _Why would someone horrible at dancing, horrible at maintaining conversation, hates ass kissing, doesn't like Bruce at the moment, and hates drinking go to a birthday party? Why don't we just add a few more reasons to that list? – Because that wasn't enough, right? _I flipped to the crossword puzzle on the back of the paper, dropping the apple out of my hand as I reached for a pencil on the bench. Fuck me. Really? I cursed out loud and scowled, looking around the courtyard in front of the hospital.

"Holly?" asked a voice from a few feet away. I glanced down the sidewalk and saw a small framed walking my way. He pulled his sunglasses off and held them in his hand. _Blake? What brings you to the hospital?_

"Hey Blake," I answered, folding up my newspaper, tucking it under my arm, standing to meet him.

"Say, you got a sec to look at something?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Look at something?"

"Yeah, it's for a case I'm working on, I'd appreciate it if you took a look at it. Gordon told me you'd be the best person to ask." I missed Gordon. A lot. Sometimes I felt like he was the only person I could really talk to. _Because he is_. He straightened his tie under his suit and glanced at the emergency bay.

"Sure," I told him. "Do I need to clock out or-?"

"Oh, no, the person's inside, I was actually on my way in to come and get you and here you are," he stated with a smirk. I nodded and turned. _So much for keeping my freaky business to a minimum. Jeez._

"Well, shall we?" I asked, gesturing towards the hospital.

"Yes." We walked inside together, me following closely behind as he led me up the elevator. The elevator closed and rose, stopping each subsequent floor.

"How's Gordon?" I just wanted to stop the awkward silence and talk a bit and I couldn't help but ask about him.

"He's good," replied Blake with a nod and the same tight lipped smile. _Okay, I know I'm not that bad. At least I pretend to like people if they speak with me. Well – outside of the OR._

"Good. I've missed visiting him all of the time."

"We've been really busy the last few weeks since he's been back. We think there might be a new villain in the making." _No. Really? If it's who I think it is, I will_- "We don't think it's Bane," he added as if he could read my mind." _Well, that's good for his sake and Bruce's._ The elevator stopped at floor 5 and we got off. "We've been keeping a pretty close eye on him, on top of Bruce's monitoring. He's been as harmless as a kitten." I smiled at the thought, trying to imagine Bane being all tame and cuddly. _Too bad Bane was far from a kitten._ We stopped outside of a room and I stared at the floor, feeling my anxiety kick in as we passed a group of giggling nurses. Blake gave them a courteous nod and his usual tight smile. _Glad to know it's not just me he feels uncomfortable with_. _Guess I was finally beginning to somewhat understand what it felt like to be treated like that. I had never really been on the receiving end of it before. Make a mental note for Jada. _I cleared my throat awkwardly and peered back up. "People have been popping up in hospitals like this all over the place the last month, almost like an epidemic," he explained.

"Is it an actual epidemic? Or?" He shook his head.

"No, epidemic is probably the wrong word to use. It's not viral or infectious. It just keeps happening." _Ah, okay…? I suppose that makes sense._ Blake knocked on the door softly and waited for someone to answer it. I met eyes with a rather distraught middle aged woman, her blonde hair pulled up into a bun, her eyes puffy and red- I assumed from crying. She stepped aside and sniffed. "How are you, Mrs. Summer?"

"I'm- alright," she breathed as we walked past. My eyes widened at least two times their normal size when I looked at the sight. I blinked hard a few times and cocked my head to the side.

"This is Doctor Engel, she's a doctor under the command of the unit, I've asked her to take a look at your husband for me," Blake spoke, stopping behind me.

"What-is-?"I stopped and pointed as I asked, staring at the man. Mrs. Summer let out a loud whimper. _Bed side manners. I'm an idiot._ Blake shrugged.

"Thought you could tell me. I don't know much about this shit- I mean- stuff," he corrected, stepping back to console Mrs. Summer "-to be honest." He patted her shoulders and gave her a small half hug. "Don't worry, we'll get this straightened out." _Does this man do everything half-assed?_ I was hoping not. I approached the man in bed, pulling on a face mask and gloves from the counter, just to be safe. Words could not even begin to describe what he looked like. His muscles were swollen and enlarged, all of his veins a bright green color, right under the skin. Something green and long was growing out of his forearm, right before his wrist. I approached it with caution, holding my hands up as I maintained my distance, trying to get a good look at it. _What in the fuck?_ I squinted, trying to think of what it looked like. It was a vine. An actual vine, growing out of a man's arm.

"What's that?" I asked, calmly, pointing down. "Is that a vine?" It was thick and knobby, about the size of a tube of toothpaste, covered in mossy green growth. This was almost as disturbing as Harvey Dent. I shuddered and walked up to him, peering over to look at the other side to see if there was another one growing out of the other arm_. I'll be damned_. _ Well, it's official, I completely jinxed myself on the whole 'freaky' business thing. _"Where did you find him at?" I leaned over his shoulder, trying not to disturb him.

"In an alley just a few blocks south of here, he was walking home. He told the nurses when he woke up that a woman was crying out for help from the alley and he ran to help her. When he got there, he said she sprayed this weird sticky mace in his face and- well, this happened." I nodded. _Selina? No. I couldn't be Selina. Could it? Why would she do something like that? I knew she had some sort of criminal history, but spraying people with mace and running away, not knowing what kind of goods the man had on him… definitely not her style. It's not like she needed to keep stealing anyway with a billionaire boyfriend and all._

"And our friends know about this?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow at him, so he would know who and what I was referring to.

"Yes, of course. They've been looking into at as much as possible." I nodded again and leaned back over Mr. Summer, reaching up to look at his eyes and look down his throat and ears for anything. _Curiosity killing my cat again_. I gingerly placed my hands on the side of his head and pulled the otoscope off of the wall to look into his ears. I gently tugged on his ear with my thumb and the side of his index finger when I heard a horrible screech. "Holly!" screamed Blake, dread and warning wrapped all into that one word. I leaned away to see what was the matter and saw the terror on Mrs. Summer's face. Both of them were staring at Mr. Summer. _Oh shit_. I cast my gaze down and could only watch as Mr. Summer's vines were unleashed and shooting straight for me.

"Oh fuck!" I screamed out loud, taking a few quick steps backwards straight into the counter. I tried to shuffle away, but couldn't outrun him. The vines wrapped around my neck and waist in the most unpleasant and horrific way. I really hated being choked. It had happened to me so many times in my life, I knew it was better not to fight it. The more you fought it the worse it hurt and the more energy you wasted. It just wasn't worth it. Blake withdrew his gun and aimed it at a wild eyed Mr. Summers, who eyes were a vibrant green color. _Great. Try to help someone out and this is what shit I get. I'm remembering this next time._

"Drop her now!" Blake ordered, yelling as Mrs. Summer screamed, hitting Blake in the shoulders.

"Don't you shoot my husband!" she squealed, hitting his arms and shoulders.

"Drop her now or I will shoot!" he barked, waving and shaking the gun in Mr. Summer's direction. I felt my face turn many different shades as I was raised into the air, high above them. Out of instinct, I grasped the vines around my neck, clawing at them with my nails. I tried to let my body go slack, but the pressure around my waist wasn't helping. _What a hell of a way to go. Survive this long and I'm about to be killed by some fucking human tree. _The door opened and I watched as a swarm of people ran in, all going straight for Mr. Summer. I felt the vine tighten even more, before I could react, my mind went blank...

_She lay in the bedroom of a home, she could smell and hear her father from downstairs. His cigarette smoke had wafted all the way to the second story. He was slamming beer bottles down on the counter, loudly, one-two-three-four-five-six… she wrapped the blanket around her body tighter and shut her eyes. __**Maybe he'll just go to sleep**__, she prayed, pulling a pillow over her head. The girl was no older than 16, her body bruised with a few cigarette burns in her shoulder from back-talking. Her life consisted of nothing more than going to school, coming home, and dealing with __him__. __**Please just go to sleep**__, she whispered, holding the sheet under her chin. _

_Seven-eight-nine-ten-eleven-twelve. There was a loud crash, she knew what was coming next. All of the muscles in her body tensed, fear stretching out and wrapping itself around each one, putting her senses on high alert. __**Please**__, she cried. __**Please, just leave me alone**__. Her heart sped up as she listened to the creaks in the staircase. There was a fumbling, he fumbled backwards and started his climb again, cursing loudly as he restarted back up the steps. "Where's Daddy's little cunt?" he snarled, stomping into the hallway in front of her room. "My jolly Holly," he joked, a snide laugh in his comment. She shut her eyes, tears forming, a sob escaping her. Trying to hold it back was burning her throat and she couldn't take it anymore. "Uh-oh, sounds like Holly isn't so jolly," he sang, leaning against the doorframe. He stroked his goatee between his fingers as he stared at her. _

"_I bet I know something that'll help with that," he breathed, his voice full of lust. She quivered uncontrollably, biting her lip, praying that her life would end. It couldn't be like this for everyone. It just couldn't. She cried hard, the emotion shredding and cutting into the depths of her soul. He walked slowly to her bed, undoing his belt. She sank into the mattress. There was nowhere to run. Nowhere to go. He was stronger and faster and had almost killed her more than enough times, she knew there was no point in trying to fight him. It only made it worse. No one knew. He always told her if she told he would torture her until she begged for death. Little did he know she begged for it every day. _

_He yanked the covers off her, hard, flipping her onto her back. She slammed her eyes closed, if she ever lived, she never wanted to remember what he looked like. She never wanted to have that in the back of her mind. She never knew that regardless of not looking, that it would never leave. It would always stay constant, nagging, always reminding her of what happened. He pulled his erection out from the hole in his boxers, stroking it in his hand as he looked down her body. After her mother died in a car accident, he was left alone with Holly, left to look after her when she was only five. He couldn't handle the stress. Her mother had taken a majority of the beatings until after she had passed. The alcohol helped release the monster that had been created from the stress and depression of losing his wife. He pulled her pants down and climbed on top of her, pushing himself inside of her, grunting. Tears soaked her face as she grimaced against each thrust, she swallowed as the vomit rose in her throat…_

_No, please, no. I don't want to think about this right now. Not now. I'm so lost._ "Holly?" asked a deep, raspy voice. It sounded like whisper. I tried to open my eyes, but couldn't. _ I want to escape this, please, please, help me._ "Holly?" A hand touched my face, spreading wetness across it. _Not that dream. I'll take anything else, but that. Open your eyes. Open them, now._ My eyes slowly opened, I fought against the urge to keep them closed. I warily opened them and squinted against the light. The hand on my face continued to stroke it, wiping the tears away. It felt warm against my skin, so much different from the dream I had. The chill… the fear… more tears entered my eyes, clouding my vision. I stared at the shape before me, unable to see the face. "Can you hear me?" I nodded slightly, haphazardly raising my arm to my face. I wiped the eye opposite of the man's hand and stared, blinking, trying to focus. "Good. Are you alright? I've given you some pain medication and something for your nerves. You were crying in your sleep, mumbling and thrashing." _I can't ever imagine why._ It wasn't fair of me to be rude, whoever it was had no idea.

"I'm alright," I croaked with a stuffy nose, sitting up the hospital bed. _Jeez, so much for a good day. Sitting down, having a nice spring day and then it got fucked over_. The hand removed itself from my face, leaving me to a rub and wipe off my own face. I pulled my hands down and opened my eyes, my entire body going into paralysis as I looked at who was sitting beside me. "B-Bane?" I stuttered, confused as to what he was doing there. He smiled warmly at me and leaned back. _ Well, fuck, I never saw this coming. _"What are you-"

"I work in the hospital now as a resident. I have for the last couple of months," he explained, holding up the name badge on his lab coat. _Liam Dorrance: Gotham Medical: Residential M.D._ His eyes were a soft, clear blue color, with that unexpected emotion behind them that I had seen in his picture before he became all 'Bane' like.

"I haven't seen you around here." His smile remained on his face, his eyebrow raised. _I'm pretty sure I would have noticed a huge brute with a shaved head wearing a lab coat._

"I did a good job of hiding from you then." It was my turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?" I asked, defensively folding my arms across my chest.

"You aren't exactly fond of me. And I can understand why." He paused, glancing out of the window, before looking at me again. "Figured if you saw me here you wouldn't be pleased- now would you?"

"No," I answered, honestly. He laughed deeply, his eyes crinkling.

"That's what I figured." I pulled at a stray piece of thread that was coming out of the worn out hospital blanket someone had put over me, staring at it, unsure of what to say. Usually people that I had been exceptionally rude to ignored me, yet this man sat with me until I woke up. _Thanks for making me feel like the bad guy, Bane_. "I appreciate your honesty." I shrugged.

"No point in lying when everything comes out in the wash." He nodded as I looked up to meet his eyes, still fumbling with the thread in my fingers.

"Very true," he agreed, leaning back in his chair. His body was still large, but not as large as it had been. There was still muscle mass, but he didn't look like he was on serious anabolic steroids anymore. The inhibitor was working.

"What were you doing? I mean – why are you helping me?" He smirked, the left side of his mouth pulling up.

"Mr. Summer is my patient." _Oh, how convenient_. "Well, my attending's patient." _Still – how convenient. _ "He was just admitted today, I had no idea what was going on. All I know is I heard yelling and screaming and you're up in the air and-"

"Yeah, I remember that all very well," I interrupted, ashamed of what had happened to me in front of everyone. He closed his mouth and sat, quietly for a beat.

"Well, I will leave you to it, then. I just wanted to make sure you were alright and make sure you weren't going to turn into one of them." He patted the bed beside my leg and rose up from his chair, walking towards the door. _Yeah, now I feel like a serious asshole. _I recounted my dream_. Come on, just say thank you. It's not that hard. The man didn't have to help you and he did. Who knows if anyone else in the hospital would have helped you? And the man had no reason to, especially after your mouth._

"Thank you," I mumbled, dipping my head back down to stare at the blanket, I glanced back up to catch him turn and smile again. "For, you know," I added, gesturing to the bed and the IV line.

"Don't worry about it," he told me with another large smile before leaving the room.


	8. Chapter 8: Screwdriver

**So- I can't honestly help myself. I can't stop writing. I start school again next Monday, so I am trying as hard as I can to push updates out before I won't be able to as much. Thank you for your support! No edits. Enjoy. :D - D**

I sat there, feeling dejected. My mind did a quick recount of what had happened while I was 'sleeping.' _Fuck me._ I hadn't thought of that in the longest time. _Guess that's what happens when something that happened so often in your past occurs in the future. _I pulled the IV out of my arm and glanced at the clock. It was already eight o'clock at night. My shift was supposed to end an hour ago. _ What a way to kill time. _Without saying a word to anyone I gathered my things out of my locker and headed home, jumping and watching every shadow that I came across.

I walked into my apartment, eyeballing the fifth of vodka on my refrigerator. _Who would it hurt? I just want to forget about what happened._ I reached up and yanked it down, placing it on the counter as I reached for a small glass. I unscrewed the lid to pour myself a screwdriver when there was a knock on my door. With a sigh I walked over to the door and opened it, a smile growing on my face as I saw my visitor – Gordon. "Hey Gordon," I greeted, stepping over for him to walk in. He walked in and hugged me immediately, wrapping a firm arm around my back. "Oh," I gasped as he hugged me. I welcomed the physical closeness of hugging someone. It had been a long time since anyone had hugged me. I graciously hugged him back.

"I'm so sorry, Holly. Had I known-" he started.

"Don't," I stated, pulling away from him. _This wasn't your fault, Gordon._ "You didn't know. We didn't have any idea of what was going to happen. If it wasn't me, it would have been someone else." He nodded and pushed his hair back, holding a box in his hand.

"That's not going to make me feel any better about it," he told me, shaking his head. He held the box out to me and smiled. _Hm?_ I raised an eyebrow as he adjusted his glasses. I opened the box and smiled. _Éclairs._ I laughed and shut the lid. _Two sweet gestures towards me in one day – maybe this ended up not being a bad day after all._

"Thank you, Gordon, but you didn't have to do this." I walked the box to the kitchen and sat it on the counter.

"I wanted to. You always took such great care of me in the hospital, then I led you into the potential death trap-"

"Gordon," I warned, interrupting him. "I told you not to worry. So _stop_ worrying! I'm fine and it's not like I can't handle it." I left the conversation where it was, not needing to say anymore. He knew about what happened to me. He dropped his head.

"I didn't even think about that," he whispered. _Oh, no, I didn't mean to make him feel worse_.

"It's alright." I patted his shoulder. "At least it was me. Someone who was used to it-I would have hated for it to happen to someone who hadn't had a traumatic experience like that before. You know? Someone innocent who would be completely scarred by it. For me, it's just another typical day in my life." He nodded and adjusted his glasses again. I held the bottle up for him to see. "Want a drink? I was just about to have one."

"I would love a drink," he answered, nodding. I pulled out another glass and poured us both a stiff screwdriver. He took a sip of it the minute I handed it to him.

"Come, let's go sit." I waved him off towards my living room. We both sat quietly for a minute sipping on our drinks. "So tell me, is everyone that this is happening to having the same effects?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"No," he answered, sitting his drink down on the table beside him. He pulled a manila file out from the inside of his jacket and handed it to me. I opened it up and took another long drink. The images were even more disturbing. Each person in the file had some sort of genetic change to them, the same weird swollen muscles, green veins, and green eyes, but they each had some sort of plant or insect growth coming out of their body. One man had thorns growing out of his back like a porcupine, a woman had wings erupting from her shoulder blades with a stinger protruding from her hips just above her ass. I stared, captivated with the images. _Yeah, this was definitely not the work of Selina Kyle_.

I shook my head and took another drink, looking over where people had been found and what they described had happened to them before they were sprayed. Before they were sprayed, the descriptions were the same 'I heard a woman yelling from an alley and ran down to help her. When I showed up to help her, she sprayed me in the face with the mace and ran off.' Each person seemed to be fine until a few hours after the attack, and then they experienced a major personality switch, turning violent and murderous. I tapped my glass and took another drink. My glass was empty. I rose up from the couch and poured myself another. "Weird isn't it?" he asked from the living room as I walked back.

"Very," I answered, sitting down beside him. I mindlessly flipped through the file and sat it down.

"I heard Bane is working there at the hospital." I snorted and shook my head. _News travels fast._

"Yeah," I added, not knowing what else to say on the subject. _The man did help me, but I still wasn't too sure about it all._

"Blake told me Bane helped you after what happened."

"He did," I affirmed, taking a drink as I looked at Gordon, trying to figure out what he was getting at.

"Well, he does seem to be different. We've been watching him very closely. He's been living with Bruce, helping clean up Gotham, and just started working at the hospital. He said that he wanted to get back into medicine." _Living with Bruce? What?_

"Living with Bruce?" I asked, sitting my glass down.

"Bruce considered it extra security and it's not like he doesn't have the room," he laughed. I nodded, watching as Gordon drained his glass. He patted my knee and squeezed. "You know you can come by the station and see me anytime." He pulled the file closed and stuffed it back into his jacket. "We don't only have to see each other when the other is in hurt." I laughed. _Very true- I just didn't want to feel like I was imposing on him. I knew how busy his job was._ He glanced down at his watch and smoothed his hair back. "Thank you for the drink, but I should be getting home. My wife is probably worried sick. I told her I was on my way home almost an hour ago." I nodded and stood up to walk him to the door, feeling torn about the fact that it felt like he had just gotten there. "You can call me anytime you need to talk, too." He pulled me into a hug, wrapping arms around my shoulders. "About anything," he added, giving me a squeeze.

"Thank you," I mumbled, holding my head against his shoulder. I could feel his smile. He squeezed me again and released.

"Get some rest and I'll talk to you soon." I nodded with a smile and opened the door.

"Good night, Gordon."

"Good night, dear," he replied, with a slight bow as he walked down the hallway. I hesitated and shut the door.

I walked into work the next day, feeling very self-conscious about the bruising around my neck. I tried to wear a turtleneck type shirt, but in the middle of spring I felt ridiculous. I had tried seeing what a scarf would look like and that made me feel like an old woman. _I'm going to be singled out all day. I know it_. _I'm pretty sure half these people think I deserve it anyway_. I stuffed my hands into my lab coat and kept my head down, maneuvering myself through the busy hallways to get to my office. I opened the door and left it open as I sat down at my desk, expecting the Chief Resident to come in at any time to ask me how I was holding up. _He'll probably suggest I talk to a counselor. _ I laughed at the thought. _No thanks, Chief, I already got one_. I opened my e-mails to review a list of surgeries that had been put on my schedule. I was halfway through putting the surgeries down on my calendar when the knock came that I had been expecting. I glanced up to greet the Chief and balked, seeing someone else. Bane. "Bane- I mean, Liam," I corrected, remembering that he had Liam on his nametag for a reason. He leaned against the door frame and smiled.

"How are you?" he asked. I sighed and stared down at my calendar.

"I'm alright," I answered, looking back at him. "Just bruised a bit, but it's nothing I can't handle." He smiled again, and rubbed hand over his clean shaven head.

"I hate to ask you, because I feel like you've done enough for me- do you take on any residents for surgeries?" I raised an eyebrow and folded my arms across my chest. _Not usually, no. In fact, I have done a lot for you, but you also helped me yesterday. Damn you, conscience, get out of my head._ "I would really like to get into surgery and you're one of the best surgeons in this hospital." _Men and flattery always seem to go hand in hand. I wonder why that is? Do they all think commenting a woman will automatically get them what they want?_ I tapped my fingers against my arm, slightly swinging my chair back and forth. _Oh, whatever. What the hell! What is it really going to hurt? It's the least I can do._

"Sure, I would be willing to take you on."

"Thank you. I can't say it enough."

"No problem." _See? I can be nice._ "Done any kind of surgery before?"

"No, I haven't, but I'd like to."

"I have a knee replacement this afternoon, if you'd like to join."

"I'd love to." I smiled as he did. "What time is it at?"

"2, in OR 5."

"I'll be there."

"Okay," I added.

"See you later." He gave me a small wave as he walked away.

The OR was cold, as usual. I pulled my face mask on and hunched over the knee of my patient, setting to work, cutting him open as Bane – Liam, walked into the OR, pulling a face mask of his own on. "Sorry I'm late, I was discharging a patient," he explained as he took the patient's side opposite of me.

"It's alright," I responded. "Just give me some suction," I asked, opening up the incision even wider.

"Is this a partial or a full replacement?" he asked, sucking up excess fluid so I could get a good look at the knee.

"Full," I answered. "Take a look at the degeneration of the cartilage and the ligaments." I put my finger against the front of my patient's knee, showing him the side of the nonexistent meniscus. He whistled loudly. "Exactly." I pulled the patella over a little farther, trying to make sure we had enough room for everything. "Bone saw?" I asked the assistant beside me, holding my hand out. "This is the tricky part." Liam sat the suction down and watched intently, his eyes scanning everything I was doing. "You have to make sure you cut it a certain way so that this fits." I held up the prosthesis for the femur and handed it to him. He took it from me and looked over it. "See the way it's shaped?" He nodded and handed it back.

"It's got four different corners in it."

"Yes." I held onto the bone saw and made the four cuts into the surface, Liam watched, not flinching or making any sort of movement. I handed the removed bone to him. "See all of the degeneration?"

"It's very obvious close up." I nodded and set to work, shocked that I had actually gotten the fitting right the first time. That rarely happened. "So, I've been made to ask you something."_ Oh, great. What the hell am I going to get asked now?_ I picked up the drill and steadied myself, drilling a hole into the patient's femur for the implant.

"Oh?" I asked, raising my eyebrow as I sat the drill down.

"Bruce and Selina wanted me to ask you if you received the invitation to his birthday party." _ That? Really? Why does it matter? _"They haven't heard an RSVP from you." I shook my head and smiled from behind my mask.

"I didn't think it was that big of a deal and with everything going on-" I waved my hand as I readied the bone saw again, cutting into the tibia, readying it for the other implant.

"Because of me?" he asked, sucking up a few shavings that had scattered. I looked at him and squinted my eyes. _No point in lying, you know I don't really care for you_-_even if I am helping you right now._

"Yes, because of you," I answered, putting the bone saw down as I picked up the drill to make a hole in his tibia. His eye crinkled and I knew he was smiling. I tested out the second component, biting my lip realizing it didn't fit. I sighed and pulled out the bone saw again.

"I have another question to ask you then."

"Ask away," I sighed. I could feel the eyes of my assistants. I was never this chatty and never allowed people into my OR, they were probably thinking I had something wrong with me. _There is something wrong with me. I'm helping out the one person who I would have spat in the face of months ago._

"Would you be willing to go with me to Bruce's party?" I stopped for a second and sat the tibial prosthesis, looking up at Liam. _Do what now? _My brain froze, trying to comprehend what he had asked me. The OR grew extremely quiet. _Why did he have to ask me this in front of other people? So much for staying out of the rumor mill at Gotham Medical_. I opened my mouth to talk, and then promptly shut it. "I just thought it would give me a chance to show you I'm not the monster I was portrayed to be…" I looked down at my hands and at the dissected knee below me. _Talk about pressure._

"Liam, I-"

"I won't take no for an answer," he insisted, holding his hands up. _Oh, really? You don't me very well, Mr. Dorrance. _

"When is it?" I asked, glancing around the room. A few assistants jumped and pretended as if they were fiddling with something when I knew damn good and well that they weren't.

"This Saturday." I thought through my schedule in my head. _Any surgeries? Can I schedule a surgery for that day? No harm in saying yes now and bowing out later._

"Sure," I answered, picking up the tester to make sure the prostheses would work well together.

"Great, I'll let Bruce know your answer later today." My eyes stared into his as I watched them scrunch up again.


	9. Chapter 9: Saturday

**Alright. SO! If you haven't noticed, this story is quite long. I want it to be long. Hang in there. This isn't a frilly little story. There is much, much, MUCH more to come. I'm going to be cranking out updates the next few days. As always, thank you for the reviews and support. Forgive the errors and – as always – enjoy. :) - D**

Saturday morning came. I had three surgeries scheduled back to back to occupy my time, I figured it was enough to get out of the party. I woke up around 9:30, just two hours before I was supposed to be at the hospital. I pulled up my online calendar to make sure everything was in order. I opened the website, clicked on my schedule and gasped. _Where the fuck did all of my surgeries go? The list was just there yesterday!_ I double checked the date. Yes, Saturday, May 5th. I refreshed the site and felt my stomach drop as my schedule came up empty again. _I hate technology. Leave it to the boys. I don't need it_. I picked up my phone and called IT immediately, some snide ass girl named Amanda answered the phone.

"Hello, this Amanda from IT for Gotham Medical," she stated, popping her gum loudly into the receiver. I flinched and pulled the phone away. _Thank you so much, Amanda._

"Uh, yeah, can you explain to me why my schedule is blank?" I asked, scowling as I tried to reopen the program on another browser, viewing the same blank page. Amanda sighed loudly, typing wildly on her keyboard, I could hear it from over the phone.

"Name?"

"Holly Engel." She clicked through a few things and popped her gum loudly again. I clenched my jaw and spun in my chair, looking out into my bedroom. She mumbled a few things as she clicked.

"You're schedule for today was changed to Monday."

"Excuse me?!" I asked, my voice rising in pitch. _Who in the hell approved that? I didn't!_

"Yep, a Mr. Bruce Wayne called and said that he needed you for a consult the entire day. Didn't you get a message?" _Mother fucker! He must have had someone hack the system_. Lucius popped into my mind first_. I might like you Lucius, but you wait until I see you again_. I cursed loudly. "Excuse me, ma'am?"

"Oh, don't ma'am me, you fucking farm animal," I growled, hanging up the phone. I sighed with force and pushed my hair back, curling my fingers up in it, pulling. _Fucking men. Infuriating._ I pulled my phone back up and dialed Bruce's cell phone. He answered the phone with his fake, phony smile and that just made it worse. "Want to explain to me what you're doing?" I hissed into the phone. He laughed.

"Just clearing up your schedule," he replied.

"Clearing up my schedule. Exactly. What gives you the right to do that? You're just a man, Bruce. You're not the President."

"You have a party to attend, I didn't want you to be too tired. I didn't want to hear any excuses for why you couldn't make it after you said you'd be here." I scrunched up my face and stared at the phone. _ I __**have**__ a party to attend? I don't __**have **__shit to attend._

"And what makes it such a big deal if I come or if I don't?" I asked, my knee bouncing wildly. I tried to get out of this thing. I was going to have to face Bane – Liam. _Ugh. No. Jesus. I thought I had this covered._

"I paid a lot of money for the dinner - almost five hundred dollars a person. There's going to be dancing, drinking, Venus will be there, and Gordon's going to be there. I know you're pretty fond of him, almost as much as I am. So, any excuses now?" His cockiness was making it hard for me to concentrate.

"Most people with common decency know they're not supposed to tell people how much they spend on parties and what not," I clipped. Bruce laughed again.

"You're so stubborn," he breathed, laughing again. "A driver is going to pick you up around 7. Don't make me leave my own party to come and find you in the Batsuit, because you know I will." _Big old scary Batman is going to come hunt me down and take me hostage. Never thought I'd hear the day._

"I thought you and Lucius turned the sonar off," I quipped back.

"I have other ways, Ms. Engel." I grunted and hung up the phone, not even allowing him to continue the conversation. I threw my phone onto my bed and stood up, looking around the room, not sure of what I should do. _Damn._ I rubbed the back of my neck, walking to my closet to find something to wear. _What does one wear to a Bruce Wayne party?_ I tapped my chin as I walked through my closet, searching for something extra fancy. That invitation was super fucking fancy. I was going to have to go to the salon, going to have to get a pedicure and – I glanced at my nails – a manicure. I found my pale pink Herve Leger bandage dress that I had to buy a few years ago for a fancy networking party at work. It wrapped around one shoulder, wasn't low cut, and ended just above my knee. I pulled it out, holding it up to the light. _Perfect._ I searched for the matching high heels I had bought for it and sat them out on my bed. I hardly ever wore any lavish jewelry aside from my watch or a tennis bracelet and earrings. I took my watch off and tossed it into the jewelry box, retrieving my bracelet with matching earrings. _Done._ I nodded in approval at my decision and heard my phone ding from a text message. I read it almost immediately. It was from Bruce. I rolled my eyes at the name.

"Bye, see you at 7, Holly," I read out loud. _Oh, believe me, Bruce, you'll see me at 7._

It was 6:50 and I stood outside of my apartment building feeling as exposed as ever. I wore some pretty tight clothes to work, but wearing a bandage dress in front of your fellow neighbors and people you don't know very well definitely makes you feel a bit – awkward. I didn't take a clutch with me, because I always felt weird carrying one, I didn't my phone and I damn sure didn't need any money. I fiddled anxiously with my tennis bracelet, staring at the cars that passed by. The hairstylist at the salon had left my black hair straight, parting it down the left instead of down the middle. I had opted for a regular french manicure on my toes and fingers, regardless of the fact that no one could see my feet under my covered heels. I was also given a gray smoky eye that I was totally not used to. Most of the time I put on eye shadow, but not this dark, usually it was just neutral coloring with the basics – eyeliner and mascara. It had taken a shit load of concealer and make up to cover up the bruising around my neck, but the make-up artist made it happen. There was no way I was going to go to a Wayne party looking like the abused housewife. I released another anxious gust of air and watched as another car drove by, just as one stopped in front of me. It was a white Koenigsegg Agera. _As if I have any idea what that means_. I gaped at it as Liam got out of the driver's seat.

"Thank God, you're a girl who is ready on time," he joked, walking around the front of the car. He had on a black tuxedo with a white dress shirt, and a black tie. _Very formal. Thank God I decided to wear this dress. _I nodded and pointed at the car. "It's Bruce's, he's been letting me drive it on loan."

"Pretty nice fucking loan," I mumbled as Liam opened my door. I got into the low car and smoothed out my dress, watching him walk back around to his side of the car. He took off slowly, not driving like a reckless idiot. _Surprises everywhere with this one._

"You look lovely," he stated as we stopped up at a stoplight. I don't know why I caught myself blushing - I had heard a comment before, but something about the situation made my cheeks flush. I felt like a grade-A Venus. _What in the world?_ I gaped at myself silently. _Did I really just blush?_ The feeling was so alien to me. I didn't know how to handle it. I took in a slow breath.

"Thank you," I responded, dropping my head down to avoid his gaze. I caught him smiling out of the corner of my eye and we took off again. I waited a few minutes before talking, enjoying myself as I watched people's reactions to the car. "You know, Bruce didn't tell me you were driving tonight." He laughed.

"Didn't think I could, huh?" he asked, the joking apparent in his voice. _Well – with your size and reputation and all_… I remained silent and bit my lip. He laughed and lightly touched my knee. "You can say it, you know? It takes a lot to offend me."

"I didn't think ex-super villains were the type to drive themselves around." He nodded his head from side to side, his mouth dipping down into a slight frown.

"I suppose they don't if they actually remember being a super villain."

"Touché," I breathed, adjusting the bracelet on my wrist.

Bruce's home was immaculate. It had a large yard that was decorated with tents, candles, and paper lanterns everywhere. There was a jazz band playing with people in uniforms passing out champagne and small finger foods to people. I glanced over at him and raised an eyebrow. He smiled.

"Temporary home," he announced as we drove up the gravel drive to a valet podium just before one of the tents. The man working the valet nodded to Liam and drove the car away, leaving us to the endless crowd of people. I swallowed the anxiety rising in my throat and followed Liam into the horde. Gordon was standing on the edge of one of the tents, sipping champagne with who I assumed to be his wife. Her brown hair was shoulder length, she was wearing a very conservative black shift dress with black heels, and pearls on every part of her body that could hold jewelry. She seemed very motherly, but uptight to me. I had heard quite a few things about her, all of which made her seem amazing from an outsider's view.

"Gordon!" I cheered, walking over to embrace him. He smiled widely and hugged me tightly.

"You look great, dear," he assured me holding my hand out as I stepped back.

"Thank you."

"Holly, this is my wife, Beth," he introduced us to each other happily. We shook hands before Gordon introduced Liam to Beth. She flushed as he smiled at her, dipping her head down as they shook hands. _Well, I'm kind of glad it's not just me that feels this way. We might be working with a more effective playboy over here_. A waiter handed us both a flute of champagne and quickly flitted away into the crowd. I clanked glasses with the three of them and drank a generous amount of the alcohol. _That tasted amazing_.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Holly, I've heard wonderful things about you. I'm extremely thankful that you were there for Gordon when I couldn't be," she praised, giving me a large grin. Beth had moved away for year or so while Gordon and Bruce worked on eliminating the corrupt from the streets. She had recently returned about a month ago after the hype from Bane had died down.

"Don't thank me, don't thank me at all," I told her, waving a hand at her. "Your husband has helped me get through my trails a lot the past few months. I couldn't ask for a better patient." He smiled and patted my shoulder. _So, true. I couldn't even begin to explain to you how amazing your husband is._

"Holly!" cried out a familiar voice. I turned to look at the crowd, eyeballing each person. "Holly! Over here!" cried out the voice again. I looked more towards my right and felt my jaw drop open in shock when I noticed who was yelling my name.

"Venus?!" I asked, flabbergasted beyond words. Venus stepped out of the crowd, wearing an emerald green dress, low cut, grazing the grass as she walked over to me. Her usually brown frizz ball mess of hair was curled into soft, large waves, her make-up caked on in the most beautiful way. "Oh my god!" I screamed, almost like a schoolgirl_. I cannot believe I am seeing what I'm seeing!_ I hugged her tightly, giving her a small squeeze. "You look-" I pulled away and looked down at her dress. "-stunning!" She giggled wildly, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Thank you. You don't look that bad yourself," she teased, pinching my arm. "I can't believe you're here. I thought you wouldn't show."

"Oh, I had someone convince me otherwise," I told her with a serious expression.

"I think I know who you mean."

"The same for you?" She shook her head.

"I've been working with Bruce and the enterprise in general the last few months." _That's way I haven't heard from you_. "It's been insane. So much work and networking and getting things figured out," she waved her hand around. "Bruce is my boss now and I was ordered to change my look, so-" she gestured her hands down her body. "Selina helped me out."

"She did a fantastic job," I assured her, nodding my head in approval. She flushed a brighter shade of red and smiled. I felt a hand on my lower back and watched her eyes widen. _Who's touching me?_ The warmth spread and knew who it was without looking, especially after the cologne hit my nose. _We're at touching level now? What? _

"Hi Liam," she chirped, giving a flirty smile in his direction.

"Hello Venus," he replied, returning the same large smile back to her. "You look very nice tonight." _No lovely comment? Is that reserved? _I felt an unfamiliar feeling inside of me as I thought about it. _Why was I being called lovely and she was just nice? Meaning behind that or what? Not quite sure how I feel about that._ I took a sip of my champagne and looked around for the waiter again. I was ready for more. "Would you like more?" he asked. _The whole bottle if you got it, Chief._

"Yes," I answered. He took my glass from my hand.

"I'll be back," he told me, walking away in the direction of a catering table in the corner of the tent.

"That man is something else," Venus whispered, stepping over to join me as we watched him walk to the table. _I suppose. I mean – _I was still having major doubts. I wasn't about to go all crazy goo-goo eyes over him. He was attractive and seemed to have his shit together, but how can you really believe that? How do you honestly know someone? Especially when they spent about four years of their life being a fucking ass. Yeah, that might be all men, but not all men hold an entire city hostage.

"Yeah, no kidding," I agreed. _Was it all an act? Was he just doing this to get some sort of approval before raping Gotham again?_ I felt a cold chill run down my spine.

"He's not the same person." _So, I keep hearing_. "He's so brilliant," she gushed, a dreamy look in her eye. _When did that change from Bruce? Had I not spoken to her in that long?_

"Maybe you should ask him to dance," I told her, turning to look away from Liam.

"Oh, no," she choked, holding a hand up to me. "I couldn't do that to you. He asked you to come here, you should dance with him." I scoffed and pushed her hand down. _Please, girl._

"We're not dating or anything. He only wanted to talk. Which I can do, after an enormous amount of alcohol. These people are about to make me flip and I can't dance with a gun to my head. You're obviously crazy about him. You should go for it." _Please do. I don't want to be dragged out to a dance floor only to make a fool of my fucking self._ She bit her lip and looked from me to Liam, then back to me.

"You're really sure?" she asked.

"One hundred and ten million fucking percent sure," I answered. She nodded and watched him as he walked up, the want in her eyes was apparent to me the entire time. He handed me the glass and smiled, warmly. I held it in my hands and drained it almost immediately. "Well, if you two will excuse me, I'm going off to find the restroom." Venus gaped at me as Liam scrunched his eyebrows up, staring in my direction. He turned to look at Venus, who blinked and made a face at me. "Do it," I mouthed, taking a few steps away.

When I returned from pretending to use the restroom I was on my third glass of champagne and had returned to Beth and Gordon's side, watching Liam and Venus dance. She had this blush on her face that I hadn't seen before. Liam would smile occasionally at her, but I caught him glancing off, looking into the crowd a few times. Me, the ever avoidant eye contact maker, would casually look away when I noticed him looking. I wasn't going even go there.

"I don't know about you two, but I need something way stronger than this bubbly shit," I mumbled, taking two glasses off of a tray as a waiter passed me. Beth laughed and nodded.

"No kidding. I hate this stuff," she commented, slowly sipping on her glass. I tossed back both of the glasses and let out a very small and silent burp. I could imagine my uncle hawking over me. He tried so hard to teach me proper manners after he took me in. He never really knew how to deal with me. I was so moody and angry for months when I moved in. _ If only he could see me now- holding my glass all fancy, dressed up, at a fancy party_… Venus and Liam walked up to us, her grinning like an idiot, him with a smug expression on his face as they approached us.

"He's an amazing dancer," Venus commented, thrusting a thumb to him.

"As are you," he added, bringing his blue eyes to mine.

"I can imagine she is. She's always been a good dancer."

"And you're not?" Gordon asked. I shook my head vehemently.

"Not in the slightest."

"I doubt that," Liam cut in with a smirk. _You know don't me, Mr. Dorrance, but thank you, again, for assuming that you do._

"Oh, and why is that?"

"Everyone can dance," he insisted. I grabbed my sixth glass of champagne and smirked, feeling the warmth finally flood over my system- anxiety and inhibitions slowly floating away.

"Not me," I clipped back as I sipped on the glass.

"Prove it." I giggled stupidly. _Oh, no, I'm seriously tipsy_. I covered my mouth and laughed again as Gordon laughed.

"I don't think I've ever heard you do that before," Gordon stated with a smile.

"Me neither," added Venus, her brow dropping. _It's not because of your lover boy. Chill. Women and their men. So catty and feisty._

"Prove it," Liam repeated, I raised an eyebrow at him and smirked. He returned the smirk, his eyes churning with that mysterious emotion that I had yet to figure out. I took another drink and handed my glass to Gordon. _You want to challenge me, Liam? I'll take it._

"Fine," I clipped, walking past him towards the crowd of dancers. _Damn, I'm feeling pretty brave._


	10. Chapter 10: Table One

**Trying to write as fast as I can so I might be able to update again later tonight before I have to head into work. Thank you all! No editing. You all know the drill. - D**

I stood in the twirling group of people, keeping my eyes focused on Liam to steady myself. He smiled this cheeky smile and walked towards me. _ I can't believe I'm standing out here. I really need to refrain from challenges when I've been drinking. _He held out his hand and I took it firmly, wrapping my arm around his neck as he wrapped one around my back. His warmth radiated out and encompassed me. He looked down at me as we began to move. _One, two, three? Right? I don't even know_. I let him lead the way and carry us around the floor. I stumbled and giggled slightly doing so. "You're not terrible," he whispered as the music played.

"Well, that's probably because I have a good leader." _What the hell brain? Flirting? _ I bit my lip and looked down. _Did I really-? No more alone time if I'm going to be drinking_. He laughed and that face engulfing smile spread. _I always forget that my filter goes completely away after drinking. This is going to be interesting._

"Not so bad yet, am I?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, not really. I know you have everyone else enamored with you."

"Do I?" I nodded, looking out into the crowd as we danced.

"Yes, even Gordon likes you." He dropped his head and looked back up.

"Interesting," he stated, with this emotion in his voice that I couldn't read.

"So, you're going to have to tell me something." He nodded. I could feel his arm drop a bit to the middle of my waist, pulling me in closer. I dropped my head down. _Now's the time to talk. No one is around. _"Why did you go and serve the rest of your father's sentence?" He smirked.

"I didn't really have a choice. I was forced to. One thing I didn't know about my father is that he was a secret serial killer."

"What?" I asked, taken aback by his answer. _And I thought my dad had problems. Which he did. He just took his tendencies out on one person._

"I had the same reaction when I found out. He skipped town shortly before he was supposed to be thrown in The Pit. They came to London and kidnapped me instead. It was death or prison. I chose prison. Had I known at the time what I was in for, I would have picked death." The tone in his voice became weary and distant. "I was beaten a lot, mainly because I wasn't a criminal and didn't have any fighting skills. A few of the men trained me, helped make me strong, and I met Talia..." he trailed off, the sadness showing in his eyes. _Oh, no, let's not talk about her. I will seriously lose all ability to contain myself._ He swallowed and looked down.

"We don't have to talk about that, Liam. I know that's not exactly a nice thing for you to talk about," I soothed, glancing away as he looked back up.

"I want to talk about it." _That makes one of us._ "She gave me something to fight for in that prison. She gave me the strength to want to carry on. I was ready to lie down and die. I protected her up until the day she escaped and then she came back to free me. The men took advantage of me then, beat me savagely until I couldn't see straight. It was horrific - the things they did to me." _Join the club._ "Talia urged me to join The League. I had no idea what I was in for, but I knew I owed her my life. To join, I had to undergo this transformation into _that thing_," he said the word with disgust. "It was the only way I could join. Ra's wouldn't let me any other way." I nodded and listened to his words. I opened my mouth to speak again as a person hit the side of their glass loudly, stepping up to the podium. Everyone stopped and turned to watch Selina take the podium at the front of the tent. I hadn't even said hello to Bruce yet. _As if I wanted to._

"Hello," Selina greeted, her charming smile on her face. "I'd like to thank you all for coming and let you all know that dinner will be served. Seating assignments are on the table just outside of the tent." She stepped away from the podium and disappeared into the crowd. Liam held his hand out and gestured for me to walk in front of him. I stepped forward and walked out towards the entrance of the tent, feeling Liam's warmth behind me. Curiosity popped up into my head, swarming with questions. I was going to prod him to death. I wanted to know everything I could.

"So, would you have taken the transformation if you had known what would happen?" I asked, falling back beside him. He tucked his hands into the pockets of his dress pants, staring between the ground and the crowd ahead of us as we waiting our turn to see our assignment.

"Probably not, no."

"What would have you done about Talia then?" He shrugged.

"I'm not quite sure." I nodded and stepped forward in line. "One of those in the moment decisions, you know?" _I suppose? I don't really know much about those._

"Did you ever find your father?" He shook his head and looked down at me.

"I've never seen him again. I haven't seen him since before I headed away to Cambridge."

"Do you think he's still alive?" He shrugged again.

"I don't really know. He's one person I never really wanted to head out and find. You know?" _Boy, do I know. You have no idea how well I know. _We stopped at the table - seeing as it was our turn - and found our assignments. We were sitting at table one with Alfred, Bruce, Selina, Gordon, Beth, Venus, Blake, and Lucius. _Great. At least I'll get my chance to have it out with the both of them at once_. We walked out to our table, sitting down next to each other, smiling and saying hello again to Gordon and Beth who were already sitting down. He handed me a glass of champagne and took a sip from his. "Tell me about you. You know so much about me when I know so little about you." I choked a little on the champagne and sat it down. _Oh, no._

"There's not really anything special about me," I stated, waving my hand.

"I find that _very_ hard to believe."

"Believe it," I quipped. _Just drop it._

"I think it's only fair," he whispered, lowly. I looked up into his eyes and breathed in deeply. "Don't you?" _He's not going to drop it. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Think of something fast. 'Yes, my father abused me from the age of 5, shortly after my mother died, then started raping me when I was 15. I was raped and abused for 2 years before I was found beaten senseless in an alley. I was taken in by my uncle and went on to become a surgeon. End scene of interesting life.' Yeah, that's not going to fly._

"I grew up here in Gotham with my uncle and aunt on the southwest side of town. My mother and father both died in a car accident when I was very young. I went on to graduate, go to college, and ended up becoming the person you see here today." He smiled and took another sip of his champagne.

"At least one of us had a normal life." _Nope. We have a lot more in common than you think_. I fiddled nervously with my bracelet again, hoping someone else would interrupt the conversation.

"What are you two talking about over there?" Gordon asked from across the table.

"Leave them alone," Beth hissed, sweetly, smiling as she put her hand on his arm. Gordon smiled down at her and kissed her cheek_. I want that._ _Not from Gordon, of course, but someone…_ I took another long drink of my champagne and met Liam's eyes again. _No, preferably not him either, well_… He smiled, letting blush spread out across my cheeks again. _Maybe. Jesus. I need to stop_.

"There you are!" Bruce cheered from a few feet away. I rolled my eyes as he took a seat beside me. Selina eyeballed me, as usual. _Bruce. You and I -we have some things to discuss._

"Happy Birthday, Bruce," I cheered, plastering a fake smile on my face.

"Thank you," he told me, patting my shoulder. I gave a polite nod to Selina and returned to my glass, drinking it down before a waiter came by to refill glasses. If one thing was for sure, it was that they wanted everyone to be drunk at these events, or I was just trying to make it happen. "I'm glad you were able to clear out your schedule and join us." I narrowed my eyes at him and watched as Lucius sat down, a smile on his face.

"Lucius," I clipped, pointing at him.

"Miss Engel!" he exclaimed, brightly, smiling at me.

"Did you do any computer work for Bruce today?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, I did actually, just as I do any other day." I squinted at him as he laughed.

"You two are awful," I stated, turning to look away from the both of them.

"Only on certain occasions," Lucius added. I fought the urge to roll my eyes and re-scanned the table. Everyone was there except for Venus. _ I'll deal with you two later_. I gave my pleasantries to Alfred and Blake, looking around to see if I could spot Venus. She joined our table shortly before they started bringing out the first course. _A three course meal? At a birthday party? _

"Anyone been anywhere fun lately?" Bruce asked, peering up around our table. _Please, I haven't left Gotham in years._ He raised an eyebrow to me first. I took a bite of the salad and shook my head. The rest of the table gave the same mum reply. "That's a shame. I've been wanting to get away from the city for a while. I was hoping someone had some good suggestions."

"I hear the Bahamas are lovely," Venus commented.

"Ah, the ocean," he replied, this dreamy look on his face. Venus watched without cracking any sort of smile. _Unusual._ She used to be so insane for this man.

"I miss the ocean," Liam added. "I haven't been in a long time." Her eyes glanced over to the man beside me, smoldering with attention_. I see. I know who this is about now._ A feeling of guilt tightened in my chest. _I shouldn't be here. She should be sitting where I am. And I should be cutting into Mr. Vaughn's hip right now. Blah._ I drained my eighth glass of champagne and watched it quickly refill. _ I need this._ I picked it up and sipped it again. "Have you been to the ocean?" Liam asked, cocking his head down to me. _Psh. I haven't been on a vacation a day in my life._

"No, I haven't," I answered.

"Never been to the ocean!?" he questioned, staring at me wide eyed. _Yes, that's what I said._

"I've never been on vacation. My aunt and uncle couldn't really afford it." Gordon raised an eyebrow at me from across the table. _Oh, no._

"Aunt and uncle?" Gordon mouthed, a confused look on his face. I shrugged and he nodded, holding his hands up.

"You'll have to go sometime," Liam insisted. _Sure. I'll go right now._

The rest of dinner was very short and light conversation. Everyone joking about the times Bruce and Lucius tried out various inventions of his that went wrong, Alfred telling stories about Bruce's childhood… Cake was laid out on our plates without any happy birthday singing. I didn't know what that was about. I drank my tenth glass of champagne and watched as the people started dancing again. _Jesus, these people like to dance._ I sat my glass down and leaned back in my chair as I faced out. Venus and Liam had set out to dance, just as Beth and Gordon had. Lucius and Alfred had disappeared with Selina and Bruce, leaving me to sit with Blake, who had moved his seat over next to mine.

"I hate these things," he stated, drinking from his glass.

"Me too," I sighed with a laugh. He laughed lightly and leaned back in his seat, folding his arms behind his head.

"He's pretty different, huh?" he asked, as we both watched Venus and Liam dance. Venus had this surreal smile on her face while Liam smirked.

"Yeah, he is," I answered.

"You think it's for good?" I sighed and took two glasses of champagne off a tray that walked by and handed him one.

"Who really knows?"

"No one," he answered, his tone changing to a serious one.

"Guess that's what makes him so dangerous right now," I added.

"Maybe he's legit. Is he still getting that truth serum?" I cocked an eyebrow up at him and wondered that myself.

"Good question," I whispered rising from my seat. Without even thinking about anything else, I stalked over to Bruce who was laughing obnoxiously with a few men in suits. I patted his shoulder gingerly. He turned and smiled.

"Holly! You guys, this is my amazing surgeon," he stated, turning me towards the men. I narrowed my eyes and gave a sheepish smile to them.

"I need to talk to you," I hissed, lowly, shaking the hand of some CEO named Bob.

"Okay, then." He pulled me out onto the dance floor. Not this shit again. "Ask away." _Your playboy tricks don't work on me, Bruce_. I stared at him, confusedly. "This is the most private way to talk right now." _Sure it is - like you don't have a house a few hundred yards away._

"Is Liam still on truth serum?"

"Yes," he answered, quickly.

"Like right now? As in taking it every day?"

"Yes."

"You're sure?"

"Holy fuck, Holly, how many times can I say yes? I can show you the report if you'd like to see it." I eyeballed the crowd dancing around us and couldn't spot Liam.

"That's not necessary, I was just curious. I do know you're advocating for him though, so it would be in your interests to lie, but you being willing to show me the report lets me know I can trust you." A hand tapped Bruce's shoulder and Liam stepped up, into the space as he turned around.

"Mind if I cut in?" Liam asked, smiling at the both of us.

"No, go right ahead," Bruce answered, handing me over to him. Bruce bowed out, disappearing back into the twirling sea.

"Having a good time?" I smiled and nodded - _more than I thought I would_. "Good." Alcohol flooded through my system and I knew I was drunk. I had this stupid ass smile on my face. I felt like talking to everyone about everything. "Would you like to take a walk?" he asked. "I want to show you something." _Oh, how cheesy._

"That's quite cheesy," I told him with a smile. He laughed and nodded.

"I know it is, but I want to show it to you."

"Alright." He led us out of the tent, towards the house, walking around to the back of it. I felt that guilty feeling sink in. _Venus likes him and I just straight up lied to him about an hour ago. Damn you, conscience. If I could, I'd pull you out of my head. We walked quietly until I couldn't really control myself anymore. _"I didn't have a normal life," I breathed, looking at the ground. "I lied to you about that."

"What kind of life did you have?"

"One similar to yours," I answered, anxiously playing with my bracelet again. He stopped walking and looked at me.

"Talk to me," he ordered, calmly. _Okay, Mr. Dorrance_.

"My parents didn't die when I was young. My mom did, but not my dad…" I trailed off and he ushered us to a small patio coming off of a side door on the house – or should I say mansion? I sat down, still staring at my bracelet as he sat down facing me. "My mom died when I was five and my dad was an alcoholic. He was pretty abusive to her before she died." Liam's jaw clenched, he held onto the armrests of the chair and stared at me, his head cocked slightly to the side. "When she died, he took out the anger on me. I thought it was normal and he threatened to tell anyone if I spoke, so I just remained quiet."

"That's terrible, Holly," he spoke, shaking his head.

"I know it is," I agreed, tears brimming my eyes.

"Is that all he did to you?" I shook my head and he pursued his lips.

"The abuse went on for years. When I was fifteen he started doing more-" His eyes widened.

"You don't have to talk about this," he told me, shaking his head again.

"It's only fair, right?" I asked, repeating his words.

"No, this isn't fair," he stated. "I wasn't beaten by members of my own family, by someone you're supposed to be able to trust." A few small tears fell from my eyes and I caught them, gingerly, hoping my make-up wasn't running. "What happened? Did you eventually get away? At least tell me that."

"One day I tried to run away. I was seventeen. He had brought his friends home and told them they could 'have at me' if they wanted." His eyes bulged. "I just ran. I ran through the streets, the four of them chasing me like a bunch of wild dogs. I turned to see if they were chasing me and fell..." the memory pumped into my thoughts vividly. I could still recall the smell of sewers piping out around me. "It was the middle of the day," I choked. "People were walking by watching as they took turns beating me up - punching me, slapping me, kicking me - no one stopped to help. They all held me down and –" I took a deep breath as a shudder rolled down my spine, remembering each one of them taking their chance at me. He held up his hand. "- a police siren went off and they scattered. They were eventually chased down, but I just laid there, helpless, naked, bloodied and beaten - it felt like an eternity for the ambulance to get there. They took me to the hospital and at the hospital, my mom's brother met me in my room and took me in."

"Then you went on to become who you are," he finished.

"Yes," I answered breathlessly as another sob escaped me.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. Tears rolled down my face, the haunting feelings from that day showing through. He rose from his chair and wrapped himself firmly around me. I sat in his arms, resting my cheek against his shoulder. His warmth flooded the areas that were infected with the chill. He held a hand on the back of my head and smoothed out my hair. "You don't have anything to fear," he breathed. "I promise you that will never happen to you again." He pulled away and looked at me and I dropped my gaze, knowing that I probably looked extremely ridiculous, make-up and all running down my face. "You don't know me well and I know you don't think you can trust me, but you can." I nodded and wiped a hand under my eyes.


	11. Chapter 11: Fifty to Ten

**Holy shit, I updated again. Somehow I did it. I haven't edited it, but I am trying to keep the story flowing right now. I got work in three hours, so no updates again until tomorrow. I have some mad b4tmans and amrawo love right now. :) Thank you guys. - D**

Work on Monday was long and dreadful. All of my surgeries that I had originally planned for Sunday were staring me in the face. I sighed and took a drink of my coffee as I typed an e-mail wildly back to the assistant who was scheduling my surgeries. She kept putting all of them within two hour blocks of each other and that's just not fucking feasible. _Not every patient is quick and easy._ There was a knock on my door. "Come in," I announced, without glancing up to see who was walking into my office. Without looking up I smelled that cologne and knew who it was instantly. _Liam._ I glanced up and smiled. "Hi," I greeted.

"Hello," he replied, a smile spreading on his face. He adjusted his lab coat and sat down on a chair facing my desk. "Having a good morning?" _Well, it's getting better, that's for sure._

"Sort of," I answered, making an indifferent face. "Just been hell so far. Trying to re-organize my fucked up schedule and trying to rally my team of unprofessionals out there so we can get started," I growled, gesturing towards the group of my assistants who were gossiping loudly as they peered into my office. _You ladies. I know exactly what you're discussing._ I sighed loudly and clicked to my door, slamming the door shut. "I hate gossiping," I breathed, walking back over my desk. He laughed that light and quiet smile, his chest heaving. "Don't laugh," I warned, "you have no idea what it's like to be a woman."

"I can imagine," he teased_. You men._ I rolled my eyes and pulled out my pager, sending out a page that we needed to meet in the OR in 15 minutes for a reconstructive bowel surgery. "Thank you again for going on Saturday." I smiled and felt the blush creep across my face. _Damn you. Seriously. Damn you. I don't like feeling this, it's so weird for me._

"Thank you for inviting me."

"If you didn't mind I would like to take you out again sometime." _What about Venus? What about – holy shit – man_. I flushed. _How can I trust you? I know you told me I can, but can I really? Shut up. Just. Whoa. We'll see? Is that an answer? What if you get all crazy? Turn into Bane again? What am I supposed to do then? He's taking serum still. It'll be fine. You're acting fucking ridiculous. You're flustered because you were just asked on a date._

"Sure," I added, giving him another smile.

"Great." The smile on his face made me smile even larger. My pager beeped at me, just as Liam's did. We both looked at each other after we read the page. 'All doctors to the ER.' I swallowed hard and rose up from the desk with Liam, walking out of my office and into the chaos in the hallway. Screaming and crying were echoing from down the way, where the ER was. We walked quickly and I gasped, taking in the scene. People were stretched out on gurneys, screaming and crying out in pain. Each person had some sort of chemical burn on them, eating their skin away. I covered my mouth and felt my eyebrows thread together. Liam pulled gloves out of the box lying on the tray beside him and handed me a pair. A small child beside me cried out, yelling for his mother. I quickly shoved the gloves on and attended to him.

"Hello," I said, cheerily, smiling at him as I evaluated the burn on his leg. It was deep, straight down to the subcutaneous tissue with the surrounding area escalating up to the first degree. "What's your name? My name is Doctor Holly." _You poor, child._ I felt my heart sink as I watched his face contort in pain. I hated children in pain. It was why I never got into pediatrics. It spoke too much to me. I hated it.

"I'm Ryan," he stuttered, his fists clenching at his sides.

"How old are you, Ryan?"

"Ten." I took his vitals, quickly. All normal, except for his gaping wound. I pulled a morphine drip out of the cart beside me and hung it on the pole next to his bed.

"This is gonna hurt a little bit, but it's only so I can get you some medicine to make you feel better." He nodded as I pulled out the needle and drip clamper. I inserted them into the crook of his arm and patted his shoulder. "You're going to be fine, okay?" He nodded again as I turned the drip on low. I pulled a dry, thin, clean sheet over his leg to cover it and patted him again as I retrieved a bag for fluids. He was going to be losing a lot of fluid and I needed to keep it up. Blake walked past me in a daze, his head bleeding. There was a more vacant expression than normal on his face. I glanced down as blood dripped from his shoulder. I gasped and sat him down on an empty bed next to Ryan. "Blake!" I exclaimed, holding his hands, shaking them. He stared at me, with no emotion. _Oh fuck!_ "Are you alright?" I prodded, pulling an alcohol swab out of the cart between the beds. I patted at the wound and held it open, looking for debris of any kind.

"She was there," he stated, his eyes looking up into mine with horror. "I was so close. And she knew it."

"What? Who was there?" I asked, dabbing at the wound still.

"The woman that's been behind all of the attacks lately… I caught on to her trail… I was gathering evidence and was at a local flower shop about a mile away. The guy behind the desk said something about 'cop' and then the next thing I know, there's a bomb going off outside." His bottom lip quivered and his brown eyes meeting mine. He cried softly.

"It's not your fault, Blake." I rubbed the shoulder that wasn't bleeding and patted him lightly. I started a drip up for him and cut his shirt off. A nurse had finally arrived to attend to Ryan and take him to pediatrics. I was most grateful for that. _I need to go visit that kid later. I need to do a lot of things later. Maybe even drunk again_. Glass shards were sticking out of his shoulder and back, but they weren't too deep. I was grateful for that, too. I grabbed a pair of tweezers and set out to helping him. I knew there were other people around that needed help, but my deep rooted respect for police officers overrode that. A few of the cuts were going to need stitches, but that wouldn't take long. I applied another alcohol swab to the cuts and listened to him breathe in a sharp intake of air. _At least you're somewhat normal again_. I hated that hollowed expression on people's faces. No one ever asked me what was wrong when I had that look on my face. It made me want to help poeple even more when I saw it. "Sorry," I whispered, picking up some Vicryl and a needle for the stitches. The Vicryl would dissolve in a few days and I didn't want him to have to worry about getting them removed, he already had enough on his mind.

"I'm so close to her," he breathed. "I'm so fucking close." He shook his head as I numbed a few places in his shoulder.

"You'll find her," I told him, as I started stitching up the small cuts. He scoffed.

"You sound so confident in me." _Well, I could be mean? Would you like me to pull out bitchy Holly? I can do that for you. I'm just trying to help you, ass. Stupid men._

"You seem like a smart kid, Blake. You'll find her." He hung his head.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it."_ I'm serious. Don't. Every time I try to help you insane creatures, you all have some kind of issue._

All in all, about 50 people were hurt in the blast, each one suffering some different degree of injury. 10 people were killed on the scene. Each person injured was admitted and put in a room for observation, just to make sure they didn't turn into murdering half-breed insects. I changed in the locker room and met Liam outside in the hallway. It had been one hell of a day. "Feeling up for dinner?" he asked me as I walked up to him. _Sure. I wasn't going the fuck home to cook. I was tired_.

"Yes," I breathed. He smirked and turned to walk with me to the parking garage.

"Meet you at Bruce's?" I nodded and got into the car. _Of course, we're heading to the mansion to eat_.

The mansion looked different without a party happening in front of it. It seemed darker and more reserved. We parked in front of it, without a valet waiting on us hand and foot. Walking inside of it, I felt like I was walking into a palace mixed into a museum. The furniture and the paintings made me gape. _Holy shit. This is how billionaires live._ "Mr. Dorrance and Ms. Engel, dinner will be served in the dining room," Alfred spoke, walking out of a side door from the small atrium.

"Thank you, Alfred," Liam spoke with a nod. Alfred gave us a smile and a nod and disappeared into the doorway he walked out of.

The dining room was even more insane. The table was large made out of cherry wood. It could have sat at least 20 people. A servant pulled out a chair for me near the end of the table, just next to the head chair, that I supposed Liam was going to sit in. We sat down next to each other silently as another servant poured water into our glasses. "Tell me something I don't about you," he told me with a smirk. I raised an eyebrow at him. _Hm? How about my general dislike for people or about how often I don't date? My favorite music? Yeah, music sounds way better._

"I really like music."

"What kind?" I shrugged.

"Any and all."

"Opera?"

"Yes, I do like opera." _I have ovaries and a uterus. Pretty much makes me destined to like opera_. He nodded with the same smirk.

"Me too."

"Where are Bruce and Selina?" I asked, thinking I already knew the answer to that question.

"They're out. They've been searching almost non-stop for this new villain." Bowls of soup were placed before us. He ate a spoonful of it and looked out of the window. "Was that Blake that I saw in the ER earlier?"

"Yes," I answered with a nod, taking a bite of my soup. It was so damn good.

"Was he alright?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Yes. I think he's a little shaken up, but he seemed alright. He said he was close to finding this woman that's been spraying people and that she dropped a bomb outside of the flower shop he was at." Liam shook his head, then clenched and unclenched his jaw.

"Why do people think it's alright to just take lives like that?" _You tell me, Bane_. I shook my head at myself. _He's not Bane right now._

"Why do people do half of what they do?" I asked quietly.

"You're right. It's pretty unexplainable. I guess we'll never really know."

"I guess not," I agreed through a breath. We ate talking lightly, discussing different parts of our life, talking about anything and everything. I felt comfortable. He had that same welcoming feeling like Gordon and I loved it. It made it so easy to talk to him. After dinner, we sat in the living room just in front of the fire place, watching the fire.

"What did you do in high school?" he asked, curiously.

"Nothing, actually. I couldn't really do much."

"Well, that makes sense."

"I really like to read though. I read a lot. I read anything I could get my hands on."

"I was the same way." I smiled and looked over at him, leaning my head back against the couch. I was so tired and full. And for the first time, I actually felt kind of happy. I was actually talking with someone who understood about a bit about my history and wasn't treating me any differently because of it. He wanted to talk. No one ever really wanted to talk to me aside from Gordon. Perhaps my attitude didn't help much in that situation, but people just didn't understand. A smile formed on my face as I listened to him speak about the different books he read, what his favorites were, and what books he was interested in starting to read. He stopped talking and looked over at me. "What?" I shook my head. _I am actually happy. And who would have thought I would say that an ex-super villain was the source of it_. "Speak, now," he ordered, jokingly. _I don't think that's wise_. I shrugged.

"Just enjoying company," I answered. He smiled and looked down at my hand, then picked it up with his. The warmth again my skin just made me melt into the couch a little farther.

"As am I," he whispered squeezing my hand. I smiled wider. My heart fluttered for a second as he rubbed his thumb across my hand. _Wow._ I hadn't felt that in a long time. He smirked, met my eyes, and leaned back against the couch.

"I should be getting home soon," I yawned, covering my mouth with my free hand.

"You know I'm not going to let you leave after a yawn like that." I laughed softly and nodded.

"I have to get home."

"Well, you have two options." _Oh, do I? You have yet to see me for what I really am, huh?_ _I don't need constant monitoring or attention. I'm pretty well off on my own. _"Alfred drives you home or you stay in one of the spare bedrooms here." I wasn't going to put Alfred out like that. That man was already ran ragged. I didn't much against servants who were willing, it wasn't like he was a slave, but he was old. That just made me feel bad. I yawned loudly again, I felt like my jaw was going to dislocate. _Maybe I do need to stay._

"I'll stay, but only in a spare bedroom." He laughed.

"Alright." He stood and held onto my hand, pulling me up out of the couch. I rose to stand beside him and followed him up the stairs to a long hallway. He led me to a door and stopped outside of it. "I'm two doors down, close to the window," he told me, gesturing near the end of the hallway.

"Thank you," I muttered, sleepily. He smiled and dropped his head down.

"You're welcome," he whispered, holding both my hands in front of me. He released my hands and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me in close. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and breathed his scent in. "I'll see you in the morning. Sleep well." I smiled, leaning my head against him.

"You too."

"Good night." He kissed the side of my head and gave me a small squeeze. Oh, please don't do that. Blush lit up my cheeks like wild fire.

"Good night, Liam," I sighed.


	12. Chapter 12: Pajamas

**No edits. Need sleep. Stupid Tumblr. And work. And watching the Warrior on Netflix. I don't recommend fangirling after you get home from work and you're already tired. You will waste more time than you care to. Anyway… I shut up now and go to bed. Haha. Enjoy! :) - D**

I walked into the bedroom and shut the door behind me quietly. I stared awestruck at the room around me. The old style furniture, bed, and floors – it was all surreal. I looked down at my clothes and vaguely remembered why it was never good to stay at someone's place without having the intent to. _No pajamas and no toothbrush_. I carried myself to the attached bathroom and opened the medicine cabinets, searching for mouthwash. _Something, damn_. I pulled out a box of tampons and snorted childishly. _Okay._ I sat the box down and jumped at the knock on my door, creeping towards it as if I were a burglar. I smoothed back my hair and opened the door, revealing Alfred.

"Mr. Dorrance gives his apologies on not giving you these sooner. They're a pair of his pajamas and this –" he held up a packaged toothbrush "– is brand new for you to use. I didn't have enough time to put a guest basket in your room. Please forgive me for that." I smiled and shook my head.

"Thank you, Alfred, don't worry about it," I told him, smiling brightly. He returned the smile and nodded as I took them from him.

"Can I get you anything else, Miss Engel?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, no thank you, Alfred, this is exactly what I needed."

"Well then, I'll leave you to it. Good night, Miss Engel," he chimed, giving a smile and a slight bow. I gawked at him as he carried himself down the hallway. _This is way too much_. I shook my head and closed to the door. _Pajamas from Liam, huh?_ I held them up to get a good look at them. They were a set of flannel, light blue pajamas with a button down shirt and drawstring pants. I couldn't stop myself from seeing if they smelled like him. I buried my nose in them and breathed in. _Oh, yes. They definitely did. _ I smiled and tossed them on the bed, hurrying into the bathroom to brush my teeth. After I finished I stripped naked and pulled the pajamas on, smiling like an idiot the entire time. I snuggled down into bed, cuddled with the pillow beside me, and fell asleep.

The next morning Alfred woke me up by knocking on my door, letting me know that breakfast was ready. _Jesus. What time is it?_ I squinted as I looked for a clock and fell back against the bed when I couldn't find one. I wasn't used to wake up calls or breakfast, for that matter. My body slid out of bed, pulling me to the bathroom for my morning duties. I yanked a large white terry cloth robe off of the back of the door and slid it on. It was way too big for me, just like the pajamas. I sauntered down the steps and found Liam at the table in the dining room. He was wearing track pants and a gray tank top, a towel around his neck. _Working out already? That just makes me look lazy_. He cleared his throat and turned the newspaper that was folded up in his hands.

"Good morning," I yawned, sinking down in the chair beside him. He sat the newspaper down and smiled.

"Morning," he repeated. He took a sip from his orange juice as plates of food were sat down before us. "Sleep well?" _You have no idea. I smelled you the entire night._

"Very well," I answered, cutting into my food. I raised an eyebrow as they placed a third place setting across from me. "What about you?"

"I slept pretty well, too." He smiled and turned as Alfred walked into the dining room.

"I just received a phone call that Mr. Lucius Fox will be joining us for breakfast," Alfred informed us before disappearing again.

"I wondered when and if he would be by," Liam spoke, taking a stab at the mound of eggs on his plate. He picked up the paper from his side of the table and handed it to me. _This can't be good._

"New mystery villain, Ivy, caught by surveillance cameras as she flees the scene from Batman and Catwoman," I read out loud. _No shit. Really?_ "Ivy was found blocks from City Hall last night, trying to break into the file room…" I peered up to look at Liam who was staring absentmindedly at his plate. "Really?" I asked, flipping the paper over to view the black and white images of a curvaceous woman with darkish looking hair running in a skintight suit. _I wonder what she's hell-bent on destroying. _

"Yes, really," Lucius answered, walking into the dining room. "I hope that whatever chemical Bruce told me ended up on the Batwing will help us analyze what she's doing and how she's making it." He sat down across from me and took a long drink, looking between the both of us. "Venus is supposed to be here soon." _Oh, shit._ "Would you mind staying and helping us out? I have feeling that the more brains we have, the faster we can crack this formula," he told me_. I have rounds to today. I have patients to see. I need to check on Ryan. I have so much to do._

"I can stay for a while," I answered, mentally thinking about how long I could stay if I pushed everything back for a few hours. He nodded and smiled to me.

"That's great," he added. I sat the newspaper down and took another bite of food. Liam leaned in and smirked. _Don't make that face at me._

"I will have to say, my pajamas look much better on you than they do on me," he flirted, his smirk growing into a grin. That weird heat I wasn't used to flared up across my face, making me drop my head out of bashfulness. _When was I going to get used to that? Hopefully soon. Blushing all of the time is driving me fucking mad_. He placed his right hand in my left and squeezed. I regained my composure and smiled at him, just in enough time to look up and see Venus fuming in the doorway. I pulled my hand out of Liam's instantly, watching his smile fade from the corner of my eye. _Oh, fuck._

"Good morning, Venus," Lucius chimed, giving her a warm smile.

"Morning," she clipped, not making any attempt to smile as her hands went to her hips. She was dressed for business, black pinstripe pants and a white silk blouse, her hair still tamed into a soft curls. "I need to speak with you in private, Holly." _Oh, hell. _I wanted to roll my eyes_. If she thought she could intimidate the ruthless she was just being silly. I hadn't talked to her in months, how was I supposed to know she had gotten all goo-goo eyes for Liam? I really found myself to be – enjoying the time I spent around him_.

"Please excuse me," I whispered to Lucius and Liam as I rose from my seat. I walked across the floor, tying my robe a little tighter around my waist as I stopped in front of her. _Better prepare myself for battle._ Her eyes were blazing with anger. She turned and stalked out of the room, leading me out of the dining room and past the atrium. I watched the rooms pass us by and she stopped abruptly, turning on her heel.

"What in the hell is going on?" she snapped, throwing her arms up. _ Um, I have no idea. You're totally asking the wrong person? I didn't plan for this to happen._

"What in the fuck are you talking about?" I barked. Knowing damn good and well what she was referring to. I raised an eyebrow at her and put my hands on my hips_. Don't get nasty with me, Venus. You know who I am_. She thrusted a finger at me and fumed.

"What were you doing holding hands with Liam? And why are you dressed like that? Did you spend the night here last night?" she hissed, taking a step closer. _Don't think about it. You better just take that step right the fuck back. _

"I can't believe you're angry at me for this right now. I really can't. I didn't make the first move. You know me better," I spat, ignoring her questions all together_. It's none of your fucking business_.

"If men make the first move on the friend they're supposed to back down. Most best friends do that in those situations." _Oh, best friends, huh? We're going to play that card?_

"I like him, Venus." _Do what?_ I mentally rammed myself and completely shut down all mental processes for a second, trying to recount what I just said. _I really fucking said that out loud._

"You what?"

"I like him," I repeated with more confidence. I was tired of playing second fiddle to my goddamn pride.

"How convenient." I growled and widened my stance, ready to attack her if she tried to touch me.

"How convenient?" I recited, cocking my head at her. "I don't like very damn guy that gives me even the slightest bit of attention, Venus. I didn't even know you liked him until the party the other night." My voice came out in a snarl.

"Most best friends will back down or stop talking to the guy. That's what friends do."

"Oh yeah?" I asked, raising my voice, taking a step towards her, shoving my finger in her face. "_Friends_? That's what _friends_ do? If we're such _best_ friends, why don't you tell me where in the fuck you were the day I was in the hospital? Where the hell were you? Gordon was the only person that came by to visit me that night. It wasn't like you didn't know, seeing as you're 'Bruce's employee' now. You could have texted or called. But did you?" She dropped her gaze and looked down at the floor. _ I've fucking got you, you bitch_. "I was always there for you. Talking to you through your constant man problems, helping you with your fucking work, talking to you about your family drama…" I shook my head and exhaled. "Did you ever stop to ask me how I was doing? Did you ever ask me how my therapy was going? Or even ask me if I wanted to talk about my fucked up past life?" I shook my head again, realizing how naïve I had been for the last year as her friend. She was so selfish and I never fully realized it until that point. "Well?!" She stared at me with less conviction in her eyes.

"No," she replied in a whisper.

"Exactly. You fucking didn't." I pushed my hair back and took a deep breath. "I don't feel the least bit bad for you," I quipped. "I don't at all. You like any guy who says 'hi' to you. I bet you've never even talked to him past 'how are you.' And guess what? I don't give a shit if you're mad at me. Hate me all you fucking want, because I'm happy for the first time in a long ass time, so you can happily fuck the fuck off." I turned on my heel and began walking back to the dining room, feeling liberated.

"Holly," she called out. "Please," she begged. "Can we talk?" _Nope._

"No," I growled, turning back around. "You and I?" I pointed to her then at myself. "We're completely fucking done." I spun back in the direction I was heading in and stopped in the middle of the atrium to head to the bedroom I was staying in. I slammed the door after I made it into the room and curled myself against the bed. _How could I have been so stupid not to notice it before? She never really cared about me. She wasn't my friend. I wasn't shit to her. Were we fighting over Liam? Why a boy? There are plenty of boys on this Earth. And her mind will be changed in days. She likes someone new every week. Was I wrong? Should I have just let her have him? I was content with being a loner_. I shrank down against my knees and sighed, trying to push my anger out.

"Holly?" asked a sweet voice from the other side of my door. I wiped my eyes and sniffed. "Holly, it's Selina. Can I come in?" _ Selina? What the hell does she want? I don't have any more fights left to hand out today, Selina, but if you'd like to try, come on in and try._

"Yes," I answered, sounding stuff as hell. The door opened and she stepped in, bare faced with a pink silk nightgown and robe on. She smiled at me as she shut the door behind her.

"Don't listen to that bitch," she stated, looking down at me. I raised an eyebrow to her. She laughed and pointed at me. "I was walking downstairs to see if Lucius was here and I heard your argument," she admitted. My face flushed. Talk about embarrassing. "Hey!" she exclaimed, making me jump. "Don't be ashamed of it. I always knew she was a little too friendly with guys. Why do you think I stayed in Arkham all of those days when I didn't have to?" _I knew it!_

"I figured," I added, smiling at her. She smiled back and dipped her head down.

"Don't worry about Venus. If you like him and you're happy, you should go for it. She didn't even talk to him when she came by here. Anytime he barely opened his mouth in her direction she would take off running out of the room." I nodded. I knew Selina was telling me the truth. I knew Venus all too well. "You know I'm excellent at reading people and figuring them out. Well, let me tell you, there is nothing admirable about that woman. She's way out of her league if she thinks someone like Liam was going to get with her." She smiled at me and crouched down beside me. "I've watched you for a while, Holly. I know what kind of person you are. I see some of myself in you. That no shit attitude and all – it's nothing to be ashamed of," she told me with a smirk. I smiled at her words and wondered why I had never noticed that before. "You just know what you want and keep your mind on it. You don't get flighty and caught up on everything else. I like that about you." She smiled again and patted my hand. "Come on, let's get you back downstairs."

We returned to the dining room to find Bruce, Liam and Lucius all hunched over Bruce's laptop. _Men and their toys._ They were replaying a recording of the surveillance video. Selina gracefully padded across the floor and wrapped her arms around Bruce, kissing and nuzzling his cheek. He smiled and held her close, but didn't break his concentration from the video. I walked over with a lot less grace and looked at the screen, staring at the video as Ivy scaled up the side of a building and disappeared. Selina dropped down onto the building from the Batwing and scanned the shadows, finding no trace of Ivy at all. Liam reached over and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, tugging me closer to him. I couldn't help the smile on my face.

"Did you get chemicals anywhere else?" Lucius asked, looking between Selina and Bruce.

"No," Bruce answered, yawning. He gave me a nod and smiled. "Morning, Holly," he breathed.

"Morning," I replied, staring at the paused screen.

"Well, considering the events of this morning, I'm going to have to ask you if you will stay and help me with this today. All day." _Um, what? I have patients to care for._

"Events?" I asked, raising a brow.

"Venus has resigned from her position for personal reasons," Lucius answered, keeping his tone even. Guilt rose in my chest. _Fuck. I really fucked this over._

"Jesus, I'm really fucking sorry you guys."

"Don't be," Bruce warned, holding up his hand. "I can find three others just like her with the snap of my fingers."

"That he can," Selina added with a grin.

"You have a knowledge of chemicals and serums. You may not know a lot, but it'll be enough to be beneficial," Lucius stated. _Sure, sure_. I nodded. "Well, let's go check on the Batwing, shall we?" He ushered Bruce and Selina out of the dining room quickly. I avoided meeting Liam's eyes as they left, still too embarrassed to look at him.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, holding my head down.

"For what?" he asked, putting a hand on my face.

"For what I just caused." He shook his head and rubbed my cheek.

"You didn't cause anything." I smiled, keeping my head in its position. He tilted chin up for me to look at him. "I like you, too," he breathed, taking a step closer. _Oh, my. I wasn't expecting to hear that._ Redness crept over my face again. He leaned in and put both of his hands on either side of my face gently. The warmth on top of my already warm skin felt welcoming. It was so different compared to the chill I always felt. I put my hands on his shoulders and leaned into him. His lips brushed against mine in the softest, sweetest way. I felt a jolt of energy hit me in the head like a truck. I pushed my lips against his harder, moving my hands to the back of his head. He pulled me against him, holding my face and jaw. We released for a second and I met his blue gaze. I smirked as I watched them crinkle from his smile. He leaned in again with his mouth open. I opened mine and felt his tongue invade my mouth. I flicked mine against his. His hands were moving everywhere. One was in my hair, holding a fistful of it, while the other held onto the small of my back, pulling my hips into his. We broke apart when it started to get more intense. I breathed in deeply as he panted holding onto a chair beside him. I was speechless. He dropped his eyes down my body and smiled.

"Come on, let's go find you some different clothes to wear," he whispered. "I don't want you to get those dirty. They've recently became my favorite." I blushed and followed him to his bedroom.


	13. Chapter 13: Newcastle

**Short and sweet. More drama next chapter! Sorry this is short. I wanted to update and had a busy day yesterday. Enjoy! - D**

We headed down to the cave after I had changed into a pair of his jeans and an old dress shirt of his. They were both equally baggy. The cave was dingy and dark, just as you expected any cave to be. There was a large, bright, well lit room at the end of the hallway, which was lined with various Batsuits and other weapons. The Batwing sat in the middle of the floor, Lucius crouched down before it, scraping some residue off of the front of it. Bruce was sitting down at a large desk in front of a floor to ceiling monitor, checking through a map of where they had been and where Ivy had been spotted. Selina was packing various things into the Batwing. I crouched down next to Lucius and stared at the mossy like material splattered all over the front of it.

"Venus doesn't know about you. Does she Bruce?" I asked, staring at the suit on the wall beside me. _ I certainly hope not, considering I just royally pissed her off._

"No. Of course not," Bruce answered, turning in his chair to look at me. "Selina told me if I told her that she would kill me." Selina laughed lightly as I breathed a sigh of relief.

"That I did," she quipped with a smirk. Bruce smiled at her and watched her curiously. _This is serious you guys. Why do I feel like I'm the only one that knows that?_

"Have you guys tried checking in to different laboratories or factories to see if anyone is manufacturing any growth serums?" I questioned.

"No, but we should," Lucius replied with a nod, scraping more material off of the Batwing.

"Can you start calling places, Lucius? Let Holly finish that up. Call up a few places and name drop us. Let them know we're looking to invest in something serious, so they can't hide anything," Bruce added, turning back to his map. I prepared more slides as Lucius left the room. I pulled on a pair of gloves to transfer them to the table that a microscope set up on it, when my pager and Liam's both buzzed. _What is it now? Good god._

"911 emergency, need all md's to ER," I read out loud, pulling my pager off of my hip. I met Liam's gaze from across the room. _Oh, no._ Bruce turned another monitor with the news on.

"Two city buses have collided in the heart of downtown. All persons are being taken to Gotham Medical…" read the news ticker at the bottom. I hung my head as images of the crash site were being displayed. _More problems._

"I'll drive," Liam spoke, pulling his keys out of his pocket.

The hospital was atrocious. The announcement on the news had sent people rushing into the hospital, trying to find loved ones. After a blood alcohol test, the driver of one of the buses was drunk out of his mind at the time of the crash. People were everywhere, screaming and crying for help. I helped any person I possibly could, avoiding the weird looks from the other doctors and nurses as I walked around in Liam's clothes. The rush and sense of need in the OR was indescribable. I had two surgeries back to back. One on a woman with a shattered femur and another on a man who had a compound fracture of his radius and ulna. Liam played assistant for me on both of them since our help was limited. After 12 hours of nonstop work, we were headed back to his car. I shuffled my feet as I held onto his hand loosely. "Let's just head back to my apartment," I sighed, leaning against the seat of his car. I didn't want to drive all the way back to the mansion when my apartment was a few streets over.

"That's fine with me," Liam mumbled, starting the car.

We slumped lazily into my apartment. I ordered a pizza and threw my cellphone down onto the counter. _I really need to start eating healthier. I've been eating a lot of crap._

"There's stuff to drink in the refrigerator. I'm going to shower before the food gets here." He nodded and plopped down on the couch, turning on the news. I showered, trying to clean myself thoroughly, but not waste a lot of time, either. I pulled on a pair of silk pajama bottoms with a tank top and walked back out into the living room, towel drying my hair.

"My turn," he told me, kissing my forehead as he walked by. I had I been in a better and much more uplifting mood I would have been sneaky and tried to catch a look, but I didn't have the energy. My body collapsed on the couch as I watched the news in a daze. I watched a replay of the wreck from the traffic cam and sighed, turning the channel to live news. _The media and drawing out the same old news_. Batman and Catwoman were all over the screen, swerving in and out of traffic, chasing after a 'lead' in a stolen car. The doorbell rang and I met the pizza man. I paid him, tossed the pizza onto the table and found a six pack of Newcastle ale I had stashed away in the back of my refrigerator. I put some plates on the table and turned to meet a shirtless, dripping wet Liam, only covered with a towel from the waist down. I flushed looking at him.

"This is a clever way to get me naked," he teased. I laughed sarcastically as I searched my dresser for a pair of worn out basketball shorts that I wore to exercise in sometimes. I tossed them to him and returned to the dining room. I sat down and opened a beer and took a few swigs of it, waiting for him to return, when he came out I stifled a laugh. They fit his waist, but they were too short, coming up three inches above his knee. "It's a little drafty," he said with a laugh, I opened a beer and handed it to him. He looked down at the label and smiled. "This is my favorite."

"Mine too." He smirked as I placed a piece of pizza on my plate.

"I'm beginning to like you more and more." My cheeks flushed. _Damn, I need to get used to this_.

"I drank this on campus every day."

"What else did you do?"

"What didn't I do?" he asked, teasingly, raising an eyebrow. I laughed as he smiled. "Well, my mates and I would play a lot of football, we'd go into town and get piss ass drunk, we'd take a ferry to Germany or France for the weekend, or we'd go skinny dipping…" He paused and rubbed the back of his head. _Liam, skinny dipping?_ I pushed the thought from my mind immediately as I felt the redness creep back up. "We were wild."

"You sounded wild." He met my gaze and his smile grew.

"What was your college life like?" he asked. "Was it wild?"

"No," I answered. He narrowed his gaze. "I was that nerdy girl you saw at the library buried in her books, studying her ass off." _ I didn't have friends and wasn't ungodly gorgeous in college, Liam._

"I would have helped you study."

"Oh, would you?" I asked, raising my eyebrow. _Don't think so fast, sir._

"Yes."

"I wasn't a very nice person in college, Liam," I admitted with a frown, spinning my beer bottle in my fingers. "I was still gaining trust with people and trying to discover life beyond what I had experienced."

"I still would have helped you," he repeated, grabbing my hand. I looked down and smiled shyly. _With the way he looked, I might have passed out if a man had talked to me like that in college._

"I bet you were the cute, popular guy." He threw his head back and laughed.

"Do you?"

"Yes! I saw that picture of you before you were sent into The Pit." He smirked and folded his arms over his chest.

"What about it?" _Modesty does not look good on you, Liam. You know you were a stud… and still are._

"It was cute – I mean you were cute – Not that you still aren't," I stuttered. _Goddamn it. Talk about foot in mouth. _He laughed and shook his head. I walked over to the washer and threw our clothes in and turned it on, feeling him watching me.

"It's not all what it seems."

"It's not?" I asked, flipping down the lid.

"No," he laughed. _Mhm. _"I was considered ordinary in the UK."

"Well," I stated, sitting down on the couch. "I do have to apologize, Liam, but I think I'm going to have to move." _I can only imagine how hot the men are over there if you're considered ordinary. _He laughed, pulling me into his lap. He hugged his arms around me, kissing my cheek through a laugh. I held my hands on his bare chest and pulled back, watching his eyes squint and twinkle in the light. I leaned in and kissed him lightly on the lips. His arms wrapped around my waist as he leaned into the kiss. His mouth opened and mine followed, pushing and twirling his tongue with mine. He let out a low growl and pulled away from me. _Did I fuck up?_

"I don't want to get carried away," he whispered, taking in a deep breath as he held my face. "And if you continue to do that – I won't stop." I nodded and fell into the cushion beside him on the couch.

"I'll sleep out here tonight," I yawned, stretching out my arms and legs.

"No, you won't," he scoffed.

"Liam, you're my guest, and you're not sleeping on the couch." _Don't argue with me, I'm tired as fuck._

"And you're the woman." _Oh, really?!_

"What does having a vagina have anything to do with this?" He laughed and grabbed my hand.

"It's guy code."

"Mhm," I mumbled, sleepily. "Why don't you just sleep in bed with me." He eyes widened and stared at me as I giggled helplessly. "Can you keep your hands to yourself?"

"Yes," he answered quickly, with a smile.

"Then, let's go," I prodded, pulling him by his hand. He stood up willingly and followed me into my bedroom. We slid into my bed next to each other, I rolled onto my side as he did. He smiled and pushed a stray piece of hair behind my ear.

"Seems like we're both pretty stubborn," he whispered. _No shit._

"I know," I agreed, smiling.

"I'll get used to it." My smile grew. _What is happening to me?_

"Me too." He laid down on his back and pulled me onto this chest, one arm behind me, the other at his side, holding my hand on his chest. I could hear his heartbeat strong and fierce in his chest. He kissed the top of my head and twirled my hair between his fingers. "Thank you," he muttered.

"For what?" I asked, tracing designs on his chest with my fingers.

"For giving me a chance to show you who I really was." I smiled and pushed up to look at him. "Your words – that day I woke up – they've haunted me." I bit my lip. _Great, now I feel guilty_. "I asked Bruce to show me what I've done and I'm not proud of it." He swallowed and closed his eyes. "That man is not who I am," he stated, firmly. _I know it's not_. I could hear the frustration in his voice. "When I saw you worked there at that hospital, I had been there for almost a week. I saw you, but stayed out of sight. I knew you would explode if you saw me. Thankfully, you always walk with your head down." _No shit. _

"I know," I added with a small laugh.

"That day… day I heard that commotion and I was outside of Mr. Summer's room. I busted in and saw you on the floor, turning blue and unconscious with no one helping you at all – I knew I had to help you, just as you helped me." Tears rimmed my eyes as I listened to him speak. "People spoke so terribly of you and tried to say you deserved it. I just didn't understand why they would say those things when even after you did what you did for me, you helped me again." I rubbed his cheek. "After your confession to me the other night…" he stopped and rubbed my cheek in the same way I was his. "I understand where you are coming from, because I was the same way. I was just like that." He kissed my cheek briefly. "It's your wall, Holly. And you do it to keep people out."

"The anger and brashness?" He nodded.

"Yes. And I don't care about your wall," he whispered, stroking my hair. "It's what's behind it that's drawn me to you." I leaned down and kissed him hard.


	14. Chapter 14: Curfew

**Sorry, it's been super hectic around here. School just started for me and is going to impair my writing for the next few months. I will still be able to update, just not daily. It may be a few days before I can get chapters up. There are only about 3-4 chapters left, so no worries. :) No edits, as usual. This chapter is long compared to the others because I didn't want to leave you with too much of a cliffhanger. –D**

A week passed. Bombings were happening all around the city. The police enforced a curfew at 8pm and public transportation was shut down. They couldn't risk buses being turned into bombs. Liam asked me to stay at the mansion until things had died down and I graciously accepted. My apartment building was pretty large and I knew if a bomb went off there, that I would be in a lot of trouble.

I cuddled up with Liam on the couch to watch the evening news. We were soon going to be the only ones there aside from Alfred and the staff. Bruce and Selina trudged down the steps in the atrium, a recap of the bombings of the day were played on the television.

"See you guys later," Bruce called, stopped to wave at us. Liam and I both turned to wave back.

"Be safe," I warned. Selina yawned, bobbing her head as she gave us a half of a wave. Alfred ushered them down the hallway to the elevator that led down to the Batcave.

"In news related to the bombings by Ivy, people of Gotham are starting to grow concerned at the possibility of increased taxes due to the damage being created on top of Bane's damage caused a few short months ago. His scars still burden our city and rebuilding the areas has grown to a halt – " _Everything is always about money. I swear._ An image of Bane was displayed on the t.v. causing Liam to shut it off immediately.

"I can't listen to that," he explained, tossing the remote onto the couch cushion beside us.

"I understand," I told him, gently rubbing his hand. We sat silently for a few minutes, each of us looking at our hands.

"Part of me really wants to help them," he whispered, turning back to look at the empty hallway. "I feel like I owe to Bruce – and Gotham." I grew extremely still. _Help them how? By turning yourself into a fucking monster again?_ My mind went blank at the idea.

"Would you risk turning yourself back into that? Not knowing how to handle it?" I asked, cautiously.

"I would try it if had the venom inhibitor close by. That way if I revert back to what I was – " I shook my head and maneuvered out of his arms. I couldn't sit in the arms of someone willingly to do that. _This was what I feared. He was going to revert back to what he was._

"Bruce and Selina can handle it." _They're a brutal force. They can handle it._

"Can they?" he asked, the skepticism heavy in his voice. "Bombings are happening every day and they still haven't found her. Every time they get close, something happens. I might be able to help." _Turning into a crazy, uncontrollable block of muscle doesn't help anyone._

"You are helping," I stressed, turning to look at him. "You're a doctor, working on becoming a surgeon. That already helps more than you know." His jaw clenched and unclenched as he rubbed the back of his head where the tubing used to be.

"You're right." I blinked and looked away, my mind going blank again. He slid over beside me on the couch and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "I can't imagine what my life would be like if I didn't come back from it…" he trailed off as if he was finally piecing the potential problems together. "I couldn't do that to you." I listened to him, hearing his words, but not fully believing him. My trust issues slowly crept back in in a matter of seconds.

We went to bed that night with a cloud over our heads. I even drove to work separately, which was something I hadn't done in a week or so. We worked quickly and smoothly together all day, saying a few words to each other and kissing each other every once in a while, but I could feel that something was amiss. _Which, I was entitled to every right of being fucking weird. I wasn't the one suggesting I turn into a roided freak. _Near the end of my shift, I finally had my mind set, I was going to see Gordon before I went home and that was the end of it. I hadn't seen him in a few days and I missed him. I stopped and grabbed his éclairs and made a stop in the police department.

I found Gordon in his office, hunched over with a harrowed look on his face, his hair a mess. I hadn't seen him that distraught since Bane was out terrorizing the streets. Thinking of the mask only made me shudder. _Poor Gordon._ I knocked on the door lightly and he shot up, clearing his throat, pushing his hair back, trying to smooth it down.

"I didn't mean to scare you," I told, walking through the door. He gave me a small smile and shut the door behind me.

"Haven't been sleeping well," he explained, rubbing his forehead. His desk was buried under mounds and towers of paperwork. I held out the box of éclairs. He smiled slightly again, thanking me as he sat them on his desk. "You don't so good either," he stated, looking me over_. If you only knew, Gordon_. He ushered me into the chair before his desk before retreating to his padded office chair.

"I'm afraid," I breathed. _No lying there_. I swallowed a ball of tears in my throat, forcing them to hold off.

"About Liam?" I nodded, dropping my gaze down to my hands.

"He mentioned something last night, about wanting to take venom again to help Bruce and Selina."

"You're afraid he'll stay that way?" I nodded again, afraid that if I spoke I would cry my eyes out. He rose up from his chair and sat in the other one beside me, taking my hands in his. "I can't imagine how you feel right now. You're not used to it at all – all of these feelings you're starting to have. And it's very hard for you to trust people anyway." He patted my hand and breathed in a sigh. _How does he always know what's going on in my damn head? _"Did he change his mind after you told him how you felt?"

"He doesn't really know how I feel," I admitted. "But, he did say that he couldn't do that to me." Gordon nodded.

"You need to communicate with him and tell him how you feel. I know you're not used to this whole relationship thing, but you need to tell him, dear. He's a man. Not a mind reader." He smiled at the words. His smile and the comment made me grin. "I can tell he means a lot to you. It may not have been a while, but I can tell." _How!? You seem like you know everything and you barely see me as much as Liam does, but you have known me a hell of a lot longer…_

"I'm not used to having something to lose like this," I stated, feeling my eyes brim with tears.

"I wish I could tell you it gets easier, but it never does." He glanced down at his watch then out of the window at the darkening sky. "I don't want to rush you out of the door, but curfew starts in twenty minutes. You won't be stopped if you're in your car, but I don't want you out walking the streets." I wanted to stay, but he was right. I definitely didn't want to be arrested over something as stupid as walking after the fucking curfew.

"You're right," I agreed, standing on my feet. He rose up with me.

"I'll talk to you later, you can call me if you'd like." I nodded and smiled at the thought. He gave me a large hug before ushering me to the door.

I hurried along the sidewalk outside to the parking garage I parked in. I was a good three blocks away. There were maybe three other people on the street with me, no cars were driving by. It was highly unusual for downtown Gotham at 8 o'clock on a Wednesday night. A woman screamed and I froze in my tracks, eyes wide open. _Oh, no. Not this. This was how those people were sprayed to turn into those god awful things. This can't be real. I'm imagining shit._ "Help me!" shrieked the voice. I glanced around me as memories of being chased and raped through the streets haunted me. _What if this was real? What if this girl is just a me in creation?_ I blew out a gust of wind and noticed the unaffected people hurrying off. I can't let that happen to someone else. I refuse to let it happen. I settled my nerves while the adrenaline coursed through them like fire. There was no time to call anyone. No time to run back and grab Gordon. A blood curdling scream echoed off of the walls. I squared my shoulders and rounded the corner.

"Hey!" I barked, pointing at the two men I made out holding a woman against the wall. _This was real. Thank God. "_Get the fuck off of her!" I spat, picking a random metal rod off of the ground, next to the wall. My voice was much deeper, it sounded so much unlike my own. The men released the woman in a heap on the ground and laughed, pointing at me. Their faces were covered in black ski masks. I glanced down at the woman who was grasping her face in her hands. I clenched and unclenched my jaw as they slowly stalked in my direction. _Mother fuckers_. I regretted my decision a little when I saw the light bouncing off of their blades in their hands. I tightened my grip on the rod and pulled it close to me like a baseball bat. I crouched down, bending at my knees, watching them closely. The shorter man lunged at me first, I cracked him in the back with the rod and I raised my foot to kick the knife out of the second man's hand when he caught my foot in mid-air. _What in the hell?_ He pulled me up in the air like a dead animal, laughing as I looked the pack of purple liquid on his back. _Oh, shit. What the hell have I done?_ Vomit rose in my throat as he threw me against the brick wall. My right shoulder and right hip hit the wall and I fell from five feet up to the concrete ground. My head bounced off of the concrete with a hollow thud. _Why couldn't I have at least landed in fucking trash?_ My head seared with pain. _Damn me. Being brave and shit. Damn me. _I blinked my eyes multiple times, trying to focus as my vision blurred. Even though my hearing was muddled, I could still make out the shrill high pitched giggle as an emerald suit approached me from the shadows. _I'm so royally fucked._

I woke up staring a light just above me. It was bright and the problems from my falling incident earlier made it much harder to focus. Pain rolled through me in waves. I grunted, pulling my limbs up to assess the damage when I realized I couldn't move. I began to panic, remembering the woman's laughter and the suit. _Oh, shit._ I glanced down at the restraints over my wrists and ankles. _Damn it._ I yelled out as I slumped against the cold, hard slab of metal at my back. Tears came easily as I shook the restraints restlessly.

"Glad to see you're awake," purred a voice from somewhere in the room. I would have craned my neck up to have a look, but the pain would have been unbearable. I turned my head so my cheek would rest on the metal table, straining my eyes as far as they would move to increase my vision. "I've heard a lot about you." The woman finally clicked into my view. Ivy. Her same skintight suit, red flowing hair, and extravagant gold make-up. Her green eyes were twinkling with something. _Probably insanity_. She smiled wildly as she looked down at me. "Sorry to say none of its good." _Same to you_.

"Fuck you," I spat. This woman wasn't going to intimidate me. I was angry. Angry at myself. Angry at this cunt in front of me. Angry about a lot at the moment. She laughed loudly, holding her stomach, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Yes, she's told me you're feisty." _She? What?_ I tried to kick my legs, adrenaline leaving no time for me to worry about my pain. "I like it though. It's much more fun to play with." The comment urged me to feel fear, but I was beyond it. I was pissed_. I'm not 17 anymore. I spent a large amount of my life living in fear. If she was going to kill me, she was going to. That was that._ She clicked out of sight, but I could feel her in the room. "I hear you're quite the surgeon and quite the friend." There was a condescending tone in her words that I couldn't pinpoint. "I hear you're dating the has-been who used to be called Bane." _Liam? No._

"What does that have to do with anything?" I snarled, grunting as I pulled on the restraints again. She wasn't going to get a hold of him without tangling with me first.

"Everything," answered another voice. Venus clicked into view, looking identical to Ivy, down to the make-up. Her hair was still brown, but it was curly and large. She even had the same wild smile on her face. _Are you fucking kidding me?_

"What do you mean everything? That's just high school bullshit right there, Venus. Grow the fuck up! It's one man!"

"That's just one example of injustice. And he's not just one man. He's _the_ man." _What in the hell is going on?_

"Oh, so, it's a public law now that a friend can't accept a man's affection even if her friend likes him? Please, get over it," I hissed.

"People will pay for their injustices. No matter big or small. We will control the city, take down the buildings and the government to make way for nature. We will rebuild the city with our own principles and laws. We will reclaim her place. We will rule the people with our enforcer – Bane," Ivy praised. I snorted loudly. _Please._

"This is the dumbest shit I've ever heard." There was a crack as a hand slapped my face. _ Going to have to do a lot more than that to shut me up_. I smiled as I felt the watch around my wrist. For once, I really wanted to hug Lucius for his invention. The watch with a GPS tracker inside of it. _They hadn't taken it off!_ _Bruce and Selina will be here any minute._

"We've been bombing and destroying buildings to make way for her trees. We will control and command the people in the ways we see fit." _Blah, blah, blah._

"Kill me and get it over with then," I snapped, lifting my head to look at her. I challenged her because she sounded like she was all talk and I was tired of talking and I knew I would have people help me soon enough.

"We're waiting," murmured Venus. I cocked my head at her as she giggled.

"Waiting for what?"

"You'll see soon enough."

"Fuck you. Fuck the both of you. This is ridiculous. The two of you can't take down an entire city." I pulled at the restraints again. "He is one man. You're going to kill me over one man when there are three billion others out there." I scoffed and fell back against the table. "You're both stupid cunts." I spat.

"Did you just call me a cunt?" Ivy asked, snarling her lip. _Oh, __vicious_.

"Yeah, unless – oops – is that a law, too?! Did I just break another one?" I asked, my voice dripping with sarcasm. Her hand slapped my face hard and I all I could do was smile. Her hands wrapped around my jaw, squeezing my face.

"As I told you before Bane is the man we need. He has the strength and the will and we want and need him on our side," she hissed, lowly. She released my face and I continued to smile. _This shit was going to be over soon._ "You won't have that smile much longer," she breathed. I stared at the ceiling chuckling slightly. _She couldn't scare me._ She pulled a needle from out of nowhere and smiled at Venus. "Do you think it's time?"

"Yes," answered Venus with a nod. _Wait? What? No. I don't want to be a damn plant or insect_. I yelled out as the substance in the syringe flooded into my system, burning my insides. My eyes felt heavy and tired. _Oh, no, I'm going to die_. I tried straining myself against the restraints again, but couldn't. _This is it._ I swallowed hard and glanced over at a cackling Venus. _Fucking bitch._ My bravery faded quickly as I pictured Liam running in with Bruce to find me dead on the table. _Damn it_. A door behind them opened and a brunette in a suit was brought in, slumped over, blood dripping from her head.

"You know who this is, right?" asked Ivy, pulling the woman's head back by her hair. _Jada._ I opened my mouth to speak, but couldn't. What Ivy had given me made me paralyzed and speechless. "She told us all of your fears right before she died. We know all about you." _Oh, fucking shit no. No. No!_ Ivy dropped Jada to the ground and clapped. "Bring them in," She ordered. I heard a door open_. Them? There's more? _My gut fell through the table and the floor as I heard the cat calls. _Fuck no._

"Remembering anything?" Venus asked, tauntingly. Five men stopped before them, eyeballing me like I was a piece of fucking meat. Each one was large and powerful. Even if I wasn't restrained and drugged, I still wouldn't have had a chance. Fear encompassed every part of my body. I could hear my heartbeat loud and steady, thumping like mad in my ears. My body urged me to run, I strained, trying to move my body against the restraints again. _Just kill me. Just fucking kill me. A bullet in my head. Something. Damn it!_ A hand ran up my shirt and I heard it being cut off. A hand ran up my thigh, signaling vomit to rise my throat with it. I sucked in a large breath, my mouth open, my neck straining as I tried to scream. My breathing became erratic. I listened to their pacing around me, feeling themselves. Tears rolled down, out of my eyes as lips pressed to my neck. All I could to was think of Liam.

_Just zone out. Breathe._ I closed my eyes, squeezing them shut. My mind tried to imagine Liam in bed, me on his chest. The steady beating of his heart, his scent, his arms wrapped around me. I just wanted him. I wanted to see him again. Wanted to tell him how I felt about him. I hadn't had a chance to yet. _Please. Just please_. I sobbed harder, without moving. Hands were everywhere on my body. _Please. Liam_. I sobbed.

A woman screamed, I opened my eyes and looked at the door to see Liam tearing the door off of the hinges, a wild look in his eyes. _Liam! Oh my fucking God. Yes!_ He stared at me and I could feel the change in him, even from across the room. His muscles were bulging. He threw the door at one of the men. Bruce, Blake, and Selina ran in behind him as he stalked to my side. Bruce subdued the men with Blake while Selina rushed after Venus and Ivy. Liam hunched over me, kissing my forehead.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered, holding my face gingerly. "Please don't be mad at me for taking it. I couldn't let them come here without me." _I couldn't for the life of me be mad at you right now._ He stroked it calmly, kissing my forehead at the same time. I wanted to kiss him so bad. I wanted to hold him against me and just breathe him in. "Are you alright?" he asked, looking down at my body, his face twisted with anger. I blinked once, more tears falling. _I am now. For now, anyway._ He kissed my cheek. My ears effectively blocked out the sound of fighting beside us. The power of his body was radiating out of every inch of him. A whirl of activity happened behind Liam. I squinted and felt my internal body jump as a syringe was stabbed in the area of his back by his neck. He grunted and I watched, helplessly as the purple fluid drained into his body. He fell to his knees, collapsing on the floor. Venus stood beside me, grinning like mad. _No! NO!_ I strained against the block in my mind. _Come on, damn it. Speak. Speak!_

"He's mine now," she cackled, pulling the syringe out of his back.

"No," I whispered loudly and hoarsely. _Pray I don't get my fucking hands on you_. Liam rose to his feet slowly, groaning. "No," I whispered again, louder. I took in a deep breath. "No!" I screamed, watching him grunt, his muscles contracting and releasing. "Bruce!" I yelled with the force of my voice. "Please!" I turned to watch him shove a man against the wall. He leaped to Liam's side. A small smirk formed on Liam's full lips. His blue eyes were shades darker.

"Stop him," Venus ordered, curtly, staring down at her nails. Liam nodded to her and punched Bruce square in the stomach, sending him backwards like a ragdoll. I cried out in pain: emotional, mental, and physical.

"No! Liam! No!" I screeched as he followed Venus out of the door. I felt something hit my head with force and my eyes closed on command…


	15. Chapter 15: Pride

**No edits. I couldn't go to sleep until I posted this. The next chapter will be very long. I mean, really long. Thank you all for the support, lovelies. :) Here it is. Good night, y'all. - D**

I felt the hospital bed beneath me first. I could hear Blake and Gordon talking, but they seemed miles and miles away from me. A hand was holding mine, stroking it lightly. My mind, even though it was clouded, replayed what happened. _That wasn't a dream… He's not here. Maybe he won't come back. _Pain tore into the places I was injured. A moan escaped my lips from the memories and the pain. Gordon said something to me, but I still couldn't hear it. All I just heard buzzing and beeping. I opened my eyes slowly, squinting at the light above me. Why are rooms always so damn bright? Gordon met my eyes and smiled. He face was red and puffy. His hair an absolute mess.

"You're awake," he choked, hugging me as I lay in my bed. I swallowed hard and patted his back lightly. I welcomed the hug graciously. I needed it. "You had me so worried," he breathed, kissing my cheek. He sniffed and wiped his eyes again. I held back the tears, trying to tell myself that Liam really wasn't there. Gordon handed me a tissue as he took one for himself. I used it on a few tears I didn't know had fallen.

"You haven't found him, have you?" I asked in a soft, far away voice. I already knew the answer, but I needed to hear it.

"No," Blake answered. I glanced at him and he looked away almost immediately. I couldn't blame him considering I always did the same thing too. A large cut was ripped down the right hand side of his face.

"Any sign of him?" I had a feeling I knew that answer too. He gave a silent shake of his head and stared down at his fingers in his hands. I didn't know what to think or do. It was like he was kidnapped, but I still couldn't think that way. The pain from knowing he was gone boiled in the back of my throat. No amount of swallowing could calm it. I yanked a jug of water off of the table beside me and drained as much of it was I could. The pain only moved, desperately trying to get away from the water, wanting to release itself. My chest tightened and before I could stop it, I was crying. Gordon made a noise and held rubbed my hand. It only made me sob harder.

"Do you need to talk about it?" Gordon asked me, his face a mixture of serenity and confusion. _ I need him_. _So much for not having anything to lose. I broke my own stupid ass rule. And the one time I break it. I quickly lose what I had. Why do people do this to themselves? Why do people obsess over falling in love with someone? It's not exactly grand._ I looked at him between the sheets of tears and choked on a breath. "I know, dear," he breathed, raising to pull me against his chest. He rubbed my back, holding me to him. My hands balled themselves up in his jacket. We sat that way for minutes, maybe even hours. He lightly shushed me.

When I woke up again, they were both still there, their jackets off, the window opened to let a light breeze roll in. My eyelids were heavy from crying, my face swollen. Blake smiled his tight lipped smile and greeted me. Gordon turned to smile at me, but kept his distance, staying by the window.

"Where are Bruce and Selina?" I asked, wondering why I hadn't seen either one of them. I hoped they were both fine.

"At the mansion, being treated by a private doctor of Bruce's. They're both okay, they just have a few minor sprains," Gordon replied. I finally took a second to assess my own injuries. Bruising along my chest, wrists, and ankles. I could only imagine what the rest of my body looked like. "We both think it's wise you don't return to work until they're detained." I nodded, defeated, leaning back against my pillow. _I'm not going to argue with that. I don't need to drag this drama into the hospital_. "We're all staying at the mansion, as well. Just for precaution, in case she does something soon."

"I can't believe she's going to try and destroy the city," Blake stated, rubbing the sole of his shoe along the slick tiles of the hospital floor. "This has almost happened twice in one year." He shook his head slowly as Gordon turned to look at him. "How do we know so little about her compared to Bane?"

"Every villain is different, son. They're just like people – everyone's different," Gordon told him with a sigh. _Except they aren't people._ "Ivy and Bane are very different people with one common goal – destroying the city." Hearing his name made me shudder and caused a whole new flood of tears.

A few days later, my nurses deemed me fit to leave. I looked like I had been ran over by a truck. My hair was a scraggly mess, bruises all the way down my body, and a red, puffy face. Alfred was waiting for me by the door when Gordon and I arrived at the mansion.

"If there's anything I can get for you, please let me know," he told me, sounding like he was choking on his words. _Bring him home…? Can I request that of you? You've already got the best people on the job though. So how about sleep - without interruption._

"Thank you, Alfred, but I'm quite alright, I think I'm just going to head to bed," I whispered, giving the smallest of smiles. He covered his face and removed his hands quickly.

"I'm terribly sorry about what's happened to Mr. Dorrance, Ms. Engel," he stated, dropping his head. I steeled myself as a line of tears threatened to fall. "You two were – " He stopped talking and waved me on. "You should go lay down," he stepped farther into the hallway and let me pass, Gordon following closely behind.

We trudged up the stairs together, silently. I stopped just before my door and glanced down the hallway to his door, staring at the door knob as if it I was waiting for it to move. I dropped my hand from my door and walked to his, still staring at the door knob. _I just want to smell him._ I took in sharp, deep breath and opened the door, peering into the darkness. Gordon maneuvered around me and flipped the light on.

"Please, try to get some sleep," he whispered, watching me as I stared into the vacant room. "Good night," he mumbled, kissing my cheek.

"Good night," I repeated, shuffling into the room slowly. I had been in this room plenty of times with him, but never on my own. I closed the door and stared at the neatness, catching a glimpse of his hospital badge on the dresser. His grinning face burrowed into me. I breathed heavily for a few moments, looking at it, before having the ability to walk over and turn it upside down. _I can't look at you._ I opened the dresser drawer and pulled out the light blue flannel pajamas from our first kiss, touching them gingerly before taking them out.

I didn't get a wakeup call that morning. In fact, a whole week passed without a wakeup call. I went down and explored the house, listening to the information they had found, eating with them, and showering. Bane, Ivy, and Venus were very well hidden, considering Bruce had been going out every night, searching relentless. My face had a permanent swollen look to it from crying. I had let Alfred wash the pajamas daily, but I wore them every night to sleep in.

On my way to the kitchen I heard the news from the steps. "Bane has resurfaced this morning, breaking into the city-county building. Surveillance videos caught this clip of him today, wearing a new mask. He was found breaking into the records room and has stolen numerous blueprints of the city. He's put the city officials in a state of confusion, leaving many of us with questions left to be answered – " The television went silent and I heard a loud sigh. _Great, he's out doing the dirty work. They're getting themselves ready. _I turned the corner and watched Bruce. He ran his hands through his hair and massaged his scalp.

"What the hell are they doing? Bombs again?" Bruce asked out loud. Duh…

"Yes," I answered. He jumped off of the couch and turned to look at me, crouched down in a defensive stance. _I scared Batman_. I laughed uncontrollably at the thought. Laughter rolled through me as I clutched my stomach, leaning against the doorjamb of the living room. He laughed sarcastically then let out a few low chuckles himself.

"Well, I'm glad to see you laughing, even if it as at my expense."

"I'm sorry," I coughed.

"Don't be." I walked over to the couch and sat down. I had barely talked to anyone in the last few days. No one had pressured me to talk or tried to prod me for conversation. I was grateful.

"Where is everyone?" I asked, curiously, surprised not to find Selina laying on the couch with him.

"Selina is asleep, Gordon and Blake are at work, and Lucius is at a lab a few hours away. He found a cure for the ones who are being turned into insects and plants. He's out overseeing the production so we'll have enough for the city."

"That's great!" I exclaimed, glad that we had finally found a way to defeat that bitch.

"I think it'll be best if we all carry a syringe of it and a syringe of the venom inhibitor for Liam, in case one of gets to him before the other one does." _ Bruce, always thinking of the best ideas_. I nodded as he sat back down beside me. He flicked the television back on and turned it on mute.

"Why would she take him?" I asked, exasperated as they played more clips of him walking into the city-county building. He had on a pack, some sort of plexi-glass cylinder filled with purple gas and a black oxygen mask. His sweet eyes were murderous once again. _Please don't lose yourself in there. Please._

"Venus knows he's a terrorizer and can be manipulated easily." He paused and looked at me. "And she knew it would hurt you." _Well, no shit._

"I'm going to kill her," I seethed. He smirked and shut the television off.

"You know I won't let you." _Just watch me, Mr. I-don't-want-to-kill-anyone-and-hate-guns._

"What are you going to do then, Bruce? Throw her in Arkham? Like that really fucking works. That does no justice for this," I quipped.

"I will not allow murder, even if she deserves it, Holly," he warned, glaring at me. I folded my arms and glared back. _You pathetic piece of shit. You may be out searching the streets for him, but I guarantee you, if I find her… she's dead._

Dinner that night was quiet. Usually someone tried to talk and keep the energy light, but not that night. There was a strain of anxiety in the air. It made the room hot. Gordon and I locked eyes from across the table and he smiled, slightly. I dropped my head down and stared at my plate, remembering the conversation Bruce and I had earlier. I had a slight amount of guilt, considering all of the shit Bruce was doing for me. But, he just didn't understand how vengeance worked, apparently.

"I'm having my annual summer party this weekend," Bruce announced, setting his fork down on the table. _Are you joking me?!_

"A party?" I asked, trying to keep my anger at bay. He nodded and stared at me, his jaw set. _He must know I'm about to argue. He knows me too well. He's beginning to realize his charms only work on the weak minded – or in Selina's case – the ones who actually want things he has to offer. _"In the middle of all of this shit going on, you want to throw a goddamn party?"

"I do it every year, Holly. Not doing it will raise suspicions." I put my fork down slowly, resisting the urge to chuck it halfway across the room.

"Oh, really? This is coming from the man who disappears for eight years and mysteriously re-emerges around the same time Batman does. Didn't plan that out too well, did you?" I snapped. _Any idiot could see how weird that was, but apparently everyone in the city didn't notice too much._

"I still had my parties," he corrected. I snorted and pushed my chair back away from the table.

"It doesn't mean we're working any less harder, Holly," Gordon added, watching me as I stood.

"Sure, Gordon," I agreed, giving him a glare. For the first time, I was actually mad at Gordon, too. "While Gotham is being destroyed, Bruce Wayne will party his ass off with the socialite snobs who could care less about anything but his money."

"That's not true," Bruce spat, standing up. "I don't stay at those events to socialize and schmooze. I stay for however long is needed and then I excuse myself." Sure.

"Who put you up to this?" I barked, looking around the table. "Was it Selina?"

"Watch it," she warned, pointing a finger at me as we met eyes.

"It's to save face and keep people calm. If they see normal things happening, it'll reassure them that there's not too much to fear. I'm influence as Bruce Wayne, too – not just as Batman. This is to keep the city calm a little longer." _He has right, but my pride was too strong._

"I'm going home," I stated. A few heads dropped around the table. Oh, what now!? "What?" I asked, looking at them. No one answered. "Don't make me ask again," I warned, raising a brow.

"Your home was bombed a few days ago," Blake answered, calmly, slowly casting his gaze from the table up to me. _Do… what…_ I grabbed onto the back of my chair and steadied myself.

"What?" I asked, quietly.

"It's true, Holly," Gordon added, in even softer tone. "We wanted to wait until Liam was back to tell you." I pulled my chair back out and sat in it, putting my hands in my face. I took a long, deep breath. _There were so many people that lived there. I had a few pictures of my mother still. All of my clothes. Everything. What the hell is happening to my life?_

"You can stay here as long as you need to," Bruce told me, looking at me as he sat back down. "I have your check from your renter's insurance. I had it sent here. I can give it to you as soon as we're finished here." He paused and took a sip of water. "You might want to go shopping for the party." _Like I'm going to some damn party after my boyfriend's been kidnapped and my house destroyed. This sounds like the perfect time to ass kiss a bunch of snooty rich bastards._


	16. Chapter 16: Purple Haze

**I forgot to mention this a while ago, but the reason for my title and the reason for my inspiration for this story comes from a song by the band Red. The song name is "Pieces." Go figure, right? It's a great song. The band is amazing. If you have a second, I would YouTube it.**

**Anyway… here is my update. Enjoy! Thank you so much for the support! I can't say it enough! It really does mean a lot to me.**

**Didn't read through this, because I hate doing it and I always change stuff when I do. I recently found out I have a bad habit of skipping words too, so – that doesn't help. - D**

I ended up going to the party that night. Mainly because I was so tired of feeling so damn lonely. Not that being at a party helped much. Watching everyone just made me realize how lonely I really was. I sat in the middle of a huge open canopy, watching the people around me dance, twirl, and talk. Each one of them was so fucking happy. It made me feel sick. _What in the hell is wrong with these people? Don't they know there is a psychopath on the loose? _For the first time in my life I wanted to talk to someone. I fiddled with the bracelet on my wrist as a couple walked by me hand in hand, laughing. I tried to stifle the sadness. I was over crying. I was willing to do anything to stop it.

I was wearing a charcoal gray sheath with a sweetheart neckline, my black hair down and straight. My bruises were still pretty evident, but Selina helped me put concealer over them to make them less noticeable. I didn't socialize with anyone besides Blake or Gordon. Bruce tried a few times to bring me into a conversation, but failed. He was telling people that Liam had to go home to Ireland for a few weeks to take care of his mother and that I was upset about that. _Yeah, that's totally what's going on. Just move along people, nothing here to see aside from a broken down woman all depressed because her boyfriend is in Ireland - whatever._

Blake sat down beside me and held out a flute of champagne. I gave him a tight lipped smile that he usually gave to other people and gulped it down. He laughed lightly, his eyes crinkled and his dimples came out from their hiding place. "Want something stronger?" he asked, pointing over to a small makeshift bar in the corner. _I'll take the bottle if you got it. I'm not picky._

"Definitely," I breathed, following him to the bar. It was a small island with stools sat all around it, a loaded shelf of alcohol, bartender and – _a very drunk Gordon? _"Gordon?" I took a seat beside him and looked into his hazy eyes. He smiled and clapped an arm around my shoulder. He motioned to the bartender and took a big swig of the drink in his glass. _Glad to see I'm not the only one stressed._

"Josh, this is the daughter I never had, Holly," he introduced me to the bartender in a slur. "Holly, meet Josh." I nodded in his direction and glanced over at Blake, who shrugged and sat down beside me. "Champagne not strong enough?" he asked, finishing off his drink. It was quickly refilled.

"No," I answered, confusedly watching him toss back half of the drink.

"Let's you get two something good then," Gordon laughed. He ordered Blake and I the same thing he was having, which was apparently a double shot of whiskey with barely anything added to it. A few drinks down, I found myself not really caring about the happy people around me, even if my new found happiness was totally created. "You know what?" Gordon asked, sloshing his drink as he talked with his hand.

"What Gordon?" Blake laughed, hunching over the counter to look at him.

"I think I'm going to retire and move to Vegas."

"Why Vegas?" I asked, curiously, taking another long drink. _That's way too far for my taste, how will I ever see you? _

"It's hot there, all the time, and there's women everywhere – and it's close to a beach." _ What a guy thing to say._

"We do have a beach," I told him, giving him a slight shove. He scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"I wouldn't exactly call what we have a beach. We don't have palm trees and hardly anyone goes to it unless it's a bunch of thug kids trying to get high." I stirred my drink with a small plastic stirring stick and stared at the small whirlpool. _What would I do without Gordon, Jada, and Liam? The only people I had come to trust were slowing disappearing_. "I just can't find it in myself to leave you though," he explained. "You're like my daughter, Holly." _Aw, jesus, Gordon_. I smiled and wiped the small tears brimming.

"I can always visit you." I grabbed his hand and squeezed it. He laughed and squeezed back.

"I know," he sighed, twirling his glass around the top of the counter. I finished my fourth drink off with Blake and they were refilled almost immediately. We all turned to face the dancing crowd behind us as an upbeat song began to play - "Castle Rock" by Frank Sinatra. It was a cover of the small band that was playing, but it was decent. People were giggling, champagne flutes in hand as the drunkenly spun around each other.

"Let's go back to the table and make fun of the drunken snobs," I whispered mischievously. _It was a lot better than staring at the all too cocky Josh who was mixing drinks and flirting with anything that had a pulse._ Blake and Gordon laughed and nodded in unison. We huddled up at the table, sitting like a bunch of gossiping teenage girls as we drank our loaded drinks, making small comments to each other every now and again. "How do these girls dance in heels like that with that much alcohol in their veins?" _No way in hell I could do it._ Gordon laughed hysterically. "What?" I asked, curiously. Blake made the same confused face, peering over my shoulder at Gordon.

"What's so funny?" Blake questioned.

"Ask Blake how to dance in high heels," Gordon breathed, red-faced. I raised an eyebrow at him and shifted to look at Blake. _What?_

"Something you need to tell me, Blake?" I folded my hands around my drink and stiffened my shoulders just as Jada used to. Blush slowly crept over his face. He opened his mouth and closed it a few times, running a hand through his hair.

"No, not really," he answered, pulling the collar away from his neck. _Oh, don't lie. Now I'm totally intrigued._

"Blake had to cross-dress as a woman for an undercover assignment once," Gordon explained. I laughed loudly trying to imagine the conservative Blake teetering around in high heels, sashaying across the floor all done up with make-up and a big blonde wig on. I laughed even louder as I tried to imagine him seducing a guy like that. He was already socially awkward, so I'm sure that just compounded for him in that situation.

"Hey, those heels looked killer _on_ me," Blake joked, smiling his dimple exposing grin.

"I bet," I teased, holding my stomach as I laughed. I felt free and open for the first time since Liam's hijacking. It made me feel guilty and nauseous to know that it alcohol to make me feel that way. _On the path to becoming my father…tragedy occurs and my first instinct is to pick up a bottle…next thing I know I'll be - _My smile dropped and I sat the glass down on the table behind me. _ No more drinking tonight. The world might seem like it's ending, but I'm not that desperate to feel better. _"So why don't you have a girlfriend?" I asked, curiously. Blake seemed like a pretty stand-up guy and he wasn't ugly, in any aspect. He shrugged and lost his happy go lucky smile at the question.

"What makes you think I don't have one?" he asked with a slight smirk.

"Then tell me who she is and why you didn't bring her." He cheeks reddened again. "Is she able to be deflated? Waiting for you in your closet in your bedroom?" Maybe a little too harsh for innocent little Blake, but I was trying to enjoy myself. Gordon snorted and sat his glass down. Blake shook and hung his head. He finally laughed a few times and looked back up at me.

"I'm just no good when it comes to talking to girls," he told me with a shrug.

"You and me both," I breathed, adjusting the bracelet on my arm as a slow song began to play.

"You have problems talking to girls?" Blake quipped. It was my turn to blush. Gordon laughed again and shook my shoulders. Blake laughed, just as loud at my reaction.

"Okay, I deserved that," I admitted with a smile. _Very true, I did._ I rubbed my shoulder as I watched a couple kiss from across the canopy. Gordon and Blake sighed, releasing their giggle fit.

"I just know what it's like…" Blake trailed off, picking a random string off of his pants. S_erious demeanor returning…_ Gordon patted my leg and took off to join Bruce who was calling for him to talk with the mayor or some other pompous asshole. "Everyone wants you to talk and you just want to forget. It's insane how people think that actually works. You try to keep yourself from getting hurt – but it ends up happening anyway." I stared at him for a while as he looked at his glass, not looking up.

"Tell me about it." He adjusted his shoulders and finally turned to look up. I felt a shift in the air. It seemed to get heavier, more dense, like a presence was in the room. I didn't turn to acknowledge it, because I figured it was from the alcohol.

"Holly –" he whispered as the music stopped "–I think you should go inside." His eyes became wide. Out of instinct I whipped my head around to see what had caused the silence of the party. When I locked eyes with the culprits, my entire face went white and my jaw went slack. _What in the hell?_ Bane stood menacingly at the entrance of the canopy wearing a dress shirt and pants under his pack with Venus and Ivy on either side of him, wearing revealing, shimmering green mini-dresses. I grabbed a hold of Blake's leg and squeezed. _I can't take this. I can't._ I felt a warmth and that unsettling nauseous feeling rise.

"Bruce Wayne's throwing a party and we didn't even get an invitation!" Bane jeered, wrapping his arms around the women on either side of him. Venus smiled shyly and I thought I was going to come unglued.

"I'm disappointed, Bruce," Venus pouted, sending a wink in his direction. Everyone in the room turned to look at him. He had his arms protectively wrapped around Selina who had reverted back into the house cat I seen back in Arkham all those months ago. _She puts on a good act._ I knew she wasn't scared.

"Don't let us spoil the party," Ivy cheered, holding her arms up. I met Bane's eyes from across the crowd. Maybe if I just faint he'll leave me alone. He raised an eyebrow and I watched his eyes crinkle. _That sick son of a bitch is smiling._ I was going to vomit, I was sure of it. "Let's dance!" she ordered, releasing a purple powder up into the crowd. People coughed as they breathed it in, leaving Blake and I in a daze. He quickly stuffed his hand into his jacket pocket and retrieved the syringe packets.

"Damn it," I cursed, fumbling to pull my dress up to retrieve my syringes. My shots were attached to my thigh – Catwoman style. I pulled the correct one out of the strap and stabbed myself, pushing the plunger down immediately. The powder encompassed the room in a fog. _Where in the hell did Gordon go?_ I squinted, staring off into the swirling purple haze to see if I could make out anything. Which, I couldn't. When the fog finally lifted, everyone was dancing. The band was playing enthusiastically, causing everyone to cheer and laugh. I pulled Blake up by his forearms and pulled him against me into a silly dance that everyone else was doing. _We've got to get the fuck out of here._ Blake stared straight faced out into the crowd. "Smile," I muttered, plastering on a fake grin of mine own. He smirked and gripped my hands a little tighter. I searched the room for Selina and Bruce, hoping to find Gordon, but instead, I found no one.

"Lucius is out," he whispered.

"What are we going to do about Liam?" I breathed, peering around for any sign of Venus or Ivy or – Bane. He sighed loudly. _Fucking great, he doesn't have any plans either._

"One of us needs to close enough with that inhibitor."

"Yeah, that inhibitor will do next to nothing to that beast with that venom pack on." I looked hard to find Bruce's face again, but couldn't see him. I relaxed knowing he was probably out preparing to re-emerge as Batman.

"May I cut in?" asked a heavy, dark voice. My gut fell to the floor.

"Sure," answered Blake, handing me over without so much as another glance. I tried to steel myself, pulling my thoughts completely away from the man I once knew. _Pretending to be confident was a bit, dancing with a boyfriend who was turned into a super villain, that doesn't remember two things about you? Talk about pressure._

"Who are you?" he asked, stepping in front of me. I stared around the room, not thinking I could handle it if we locked eyes. His hands were warm and inviting, just as I remembered. I felt myself falling on the inside. My jaw tightened. I can't do this.

"Holly Engel," I replied, possibly a little too quickly. He laughed, his eyes scrunched up.

"You're one of the ones they want dead," he laughed_. Oh, nice. Thanks, asshole. You wouldn't feel that way if you knew who in the hell you were._ I tried not to balk or scowl. "I had a feeling you were the one they wanted. Fear clouds all around you." _You mistake that hate for fear. I'm not scared of any one of you. There's not much else you can take from me right now – Bane. I guarantee you that_. "Something feels familiar about you though," he spoke in a voice that sounded far away. Blake returned behind Bane and cleared his throat loudly.

"May I have my woman back?" Blake asked drunkenly. I pursed my lips. _Oh, no._ Bane stopped dancing, and pivoted on his feet, then released me. Blake's hands found their ways into mine again. I gave him a tight squeeze and a firm look.

"What are you doing?" I hissed.

"We need to leave," he muttered.

"We can't now that – " A loud crash interrupted me. Only the two of us stopped dancing to search for the origin. Bruce popped up from the ground, his Batsuit on, Selina right behind him. He threw five grenades to the floor. People continued to dance through it, scattering away as the effect took place. A flurry of people took off in different directions, screaming, bolting for the exits. A large hand wrapped tightly around my upper arm. _Bane._ Blake pulled me towards Bruce and Selina. I grunted out loud and he yanked even harder. _I'm about to get ripped in half._

"Blake! Stop!" I commanded. I could feel the new bruises forming as they pulled. He released me and I fell back against Bane's chest. It was like hitting the side of a tree.

"You're not going anywhere," he snarled. The smoke from Bruce's grenades faded and it was just Blake, me, and Bane in the same room together. "I have been given strict orders to hold you here until they come back to kill you or kill you myself. Whichever I choose." He tossed me to the floor like nothing. I slammed into the ground hard, on my right hip. I held onto it as I rolled onto my back. _Well, that certainly fucking hurt_. Blake pulled his gun out of his holster and aimed it Bane.

"Leave her alone," Blake ordered, I peered up at him. His stance was firm, both hands holding the gun steady. Bane laughed loudly, sarcastically. He stomped over to Blake. "I'll shoot you." He laughed again. "I mean it," he snapped. Bane pulled his hand back and busted him straight across the mouth with the back of his hand. There was a loud crack from the impact.

"Blake!" I cried out as he stumbled into the ground. Bane turned towards me slowly. His eyes crinkled in the most wicked way.

"Where were we?" he asked, putting his hands onto the straps of his pack. I tried scrambling to my feet, but failed - my hip hurt too bad. _No use_. I swallowed hard.

"I feel familiar to you, because before this, I meant something to you," I sputtered, grasping the grass and dirt with my hands as I lay on my stomach.

"You're not Talia," he spat. He stared down at me. I knew he was studying me. I had that feeling. "You look nothing like her."

"It was just a few weeks ago." He laughed and I felt tears rim my eyes. _Please, don't let me cry in front of this fucking monster. He will use it against me in ways I don't even know. _"You can feel it," I breathed. "Why else would you still be talking to me, Liam?" He laughed even harder, throwing his head back.

"I only give you the satisfaction, because hope is just as lethal as fear. You hope I will remember. You hope I'll suddenly stop wanting to kill you. Hope all you want, _dear_. It'll be that much more fun for me to break you." I buckled as he stomped closer to me, his eyes blazing and churning.

"I know you're in there somewhere, Liam," I hollered, desperate for him to come out of the fog. Tears rolled down my face.

"That's it," he urged, stepping even closer. I tried to stand up and fell once again. _What's the fucking point? He's being controlled and I'm talking to nothing. Blake's unconscious. I have no idea where the fuck help is. My home is destroyed. My boyfriend gone. I'm lost. There's nothing left to give, but my life. And what kind of life do I really have? _I slumped against the ground and welcomed it. _There's nothing left for me here._

"And to think I loved you," I sobbed, holding my hands beside me. The pain in my chest and throat was searing. I felt like I was dying. My nose became stuffy from the crying and the ball that had lodged itself in my throat made it even harder to breathe.

"Get up," he ordered. "You're pathetic." I shook my head and squinted through the wall of tears to look at a stirring Blake. He blinked at me a few times and winced. I closed my eyes.

"There you are," purred a voice. I felt my body clench up. Venus was back.

"Yes," Bane answered, dropping to one knee. _And I'm pathetic? Please._

"I see you've held our prisoners well."

"Yes."

"Good." She stopped walking in front of me, her heels glimmering just like her dress. "Pick her up and let me kill her the proper way. With medicine," she breathed, fumbling with something. Bane reached down and held me up before him. _Finally, just end this bullshit. No men to kill me with this time?_ She smiled at me with a sick smile. Blake fumbled with his gun and she kicked it out of his reach. I remember the gun that Selina had placed into the holster with the syringes. My mind toyed with the idea as she strolled back over, holding a syringe up in her hand. "I finally have you all to myself. I can't wait to make you one of mine. I think you'll make a great addition to my team." I rolled my eyes. _ I'm not going to live my life as a fucking insect. _"Any last words?"

"I have some," Blake quipped. We all turned to look at him as he aimed another gun at her. She opened her mouth to speak, but the gun went off before she could talk. She squealed and dropped the syringe, the bullet blazing just to the right of her. Bane released me to grab Blake, I found the gun in my holster and switched the safety off, aiming it straight for the middle of her chest. She held her hands up high. _That's what I fucking thought, cunt._

"Let's talk about this," she murmured. There was another loud crack. I shifted my gaze to see a very unconscious Blake on the floor again, Bane standing over him. _Damn it._

"Let's not," I cursed, firing the gun. Her body fell to the ground, blood oozing out of her chest. Bane screamed and launched himself at me. I didn't have the heart to shoot him. "Do your worst," I stated. "There's not much more you could do hurt me." We laid on the grass, him on top of me. He wrapped one hand around my neck and pulled up into the air. I sputtered and gasped for air, I grunted and struggled to bring my hands up. _Just do it. Come on. I_ ripped the mask off and stared at his face. He gasped for air and snarled, tightening his grip. There was an audible crunch of my neck. _Well, there goes my trachea. No time to waste._ I gagged and bite the cap off of the syringe with my teeth before stabbing the syringe into his neck. I pushed the plunger down and felt the blackness take over. The darkness was here again.


	17. Chapter 17: Love

**No edits. Trying to get this up and posted. Couldn't stop writing! :) - D**

Pain ripped through me like a hot knife, not stopping anywhere. I could feel it deep down in my bones. I could hear sounds, but they sounded far away again. Hospital? I want to wince, but I can't. Bane. Liam. Blake. His hands around my throat. My body makes a small movement that I can feel when I think of that. The talking is low and muted, hushed. I could barely make them out over the beeping of my heart monitor and the sound of a – _ventilator?_ The thought caused me to gag. _Yay, vomiting_. I winced as my eyes jerked open. Bruce was hunched at my bed side, holding my hand lightly. A nurse was typing away at the computer at her station.

"Shh, breathe," the nurse cooed as I made eye contact with her. Her hands pushed hair off of my forehead. "Just breathe, we can't take it out yet." I made a motion with my hand. I wanted to close my eyes and forget about everything, but I was afraid I wouldn't wake up again. She raised a syringe up for me to see and tapped it. I shook my head firmly, pushing her hand away as she brought it closer to my line. "It's going to help you," she insisted. I stared at Bruce, terrified, pleading him with my eyes.

"Just take out the intubation and see how she does," Bruce ordered, calmly. _Oh, thank god._

"Mr. Wayne, she just had her throat crushed a week ago, and you want to –"

"You're being paid by me to take orders and care for us. We can re-do it if she needs it. Now pull it the fuck out," he barked, scowling at her. She didn't look pleased, but she obeyed, ripping the tape off of my mouth before slowly pulling the tubing out. I winced the entire time. "Thank you," he whispered as she gathered the things into a biohazard bag. She made some face at him, but I ignored it. He waited to talk until the door was closed. _That is so much better_. I relaxed against the pillow of my bed, enjoying the feeling of breathing on my own. "You better not talk for a while," he warned. I point at him, reminding him of my status. He grinned and laughed as I teased him. "My apologies, Doctor Engel," he responded, placing one hand on his chest. I rolled my eyes. _Bruce Wayne – the playboy_. He held out a pad of paper and a pen for me to take that I took almost immediately.

"Where is he?" I scribbled out quickly.

"Home. He had to leave today and rest. He was here for four days straight. Just left again a few hours ago."

"Is he normal?"

"For the most part, yes. He keeps having nightmares that he's choking you to death." I dropped my head and shook it slightly.

"Selina?"

"Broken leg."

"Blake?"

"Concussion." I swallowed with a lot of effort. It felt like a sore throat from hell.

"Gordon?" Bruce laughed.

"Just fine. Apparently in the middle of the purple haze incident, he took off into the house and held himself up in there with Alfred." I smiled at him as he spoke. "He was a little – inebriated." A weird sounding laugh escaping my lips as I thought back to him that night.

"Ivy?"

"In Arkham." He made a face at me and pointed. "I know what you did." Uh-oh. I've angered the Batman. "I'm not pleased, but from what Blake claims, I guess I can't be mad at you." _No shit. I don't have a Batsuit, Bruce. She fucking deserved it. _"You want me to call Liam and let him know you're awake? He's been worried sick about you." I shrugged. _Could I handle seeing him? Would it be worth it? Maybe he's just pretending he's Liam to finish the job… But he could have done that all week._ I exhaled a large gust of air and peered out of the window. "He's been worried sick about you, Holly. I'll have him all loaded up on inhibitor when he shows up, just for you. Does that help?" I gave a slight nod to him. Mainly because it hurt and I was still a little confused about it all.

My door opened and a nurse came in to check my vitals and administer me my hourly round of morphine, which I had no choice in refusing or accepting. Bruce left as Blake walked in to check on me in the middle of my dose.

"You're awake," he exclaimed with that large smile. There's a bandage on his forehead, just beside his hairline. I smiled at him, genuinely happy to see him. He held out a large bouquet of flowers to me and sat them down on the table beside my bed. For the first time, I peered around the room and took in the large amount of flowers and balloons set up everywhere. _I don't know that many people. That many people that like me anyway. _Gordon entered just as Blake sat down next to me. As the door opened I could see the reporters totally encompassing the hallway all trying to snag pictures of me, for whatever reason.

"Damn vultures," Gordon cussed, leaning against the door as he shut it. I raised up in my bed a little and waved. "You're awake!" He bounded over to me, the same big smile that Blake had on his face. He wrapped his arms around me tightly and kissed the top of my head. I smiled and patted him as I buried my face in his coat. I'm so glad you're safe. And unscathed. "I'm sorry I left you," he choked. I pulled back and raised a finger at him.

"It kept you safe," I wrote.

"But not you."

"Doesn't matter." I didn't want to be rude, but I didn't think Gordon could have handled a beating from Bane like that at his age. No one likes to hear they're old.

"Matters to me, Holly," he corrected. I rolled my eyes and smiled. He turned to Blake and put his hands on his hips. "Has anyone told Liam that she's awake?"

"I think Bruce just left to go call him and tell him," Blake answered. "He left not too long ago to catch some rest. He hasn't been sleeping well."

"Well, he shouldn't after he did what he did-"

"He wasn't himself, Gordon." Gordon adjusted his glasses, growing a slight shade of red. I was surprised to hear Blake of all people defending Bane.

"Be that as it may – it's going to take me a while to get over it." I scribbled furiously on my paper as they talked.

"I suppose he doesn't remember anything?" I asked.

"Only that he somewhat remembers regaining consciousness when he was choking you," Blake replied. I nodded and listened as he talked with Gordon about some random new case they had started working on until the morphine finally worked me into a sleep.

When I woke up again, I felt a hand gingerly caressing my face. I knew exactly who's hand it was without even having to look at it. Liam was there. _Am I ready to face this?_ I resisted the urge to bat at it and slowly opened my eyes. The morphine had made me extremely tired and groggy, but I was grateful, it was helping me forget about the pain. "Hey," he whispered softly. The lights were off. It was dark in the room and I could barely see him. His fingertips dragged across my face, pushing hair back away from my forehead. I wrote something down on the paper and handed it to him.

"Can't see." He laughed and turned on a dim light by the nurse's computer.

"Better?"

"Yes." He smiled at me warmly. I missed those eyes. Those warm, sweet, loving blue eyes. And his full soft lips. _ He was there before me again._

"I'm so sorry, Holly," he whispered, holding his hand on my face. His eyes became glassy in the light. I held my on his and blinked. "You have no idea what this last week has been like for me – what I remember doing to you – it was like waking up in Arkham again with all new memories, but you're being called monster again with no idea why." _Believe me, I have a pretty firm idea of what you're week's been like. Welcome to my world while you were Bane, Liam. I never thought I would see you again. I never thought I would even live after that. _Before I knew what I was doing, I was crying, then he was crying. I pulled my blanket and sheet back, patting the bed next to me for him to get in. He scooted in beside me and wrapped me up under his chin. "I don't blame you if you don't forgive me."

"Scopalamine," I wrote, holding it up. Couldn't stop yourself. Honestly. I tried to get you to stop.

"I'm stronger than that," he insisted. I sighed. _No one is._

"You're not Superman, Liam," I whispered, hoarsely.

"You shouldn't be talking," he scolded. _No shit._

"To hell with this telegram bullshit," I whispered, throwing the paper and pen to the floor. He laughed lightly.

"You sound terrible." He kissed my cheek and nuzzled his face into my hair.

"You look terrible," I teased, pinching his leg. He laughed again. I could feel his laughter in his chest. _ I missed this so much. It was nothing like Bane's laugh. Nothing at all. This is my Liam. He is not Bane._ "I think t's your fault that I sound like shit anyway." He grew incredibly still.

"I'll never forgive myself for that."

"Liam…" _Oh, shit, I was only joking a bit._

"Holly," he cut me off. "I'm never taking venom again. Even in a low dose. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I hurt you or anyone else again."

"You only hurt those people to save me. So technically, it wasn't like you were just out terrorizing the city for the hell of it."

"Gordon came and spoke with me." I raised my brow.

"About?"

"He told me about what you had told him the night you were abducted – that you were afraid for me – and that if I ever hurt you mentally, physically, or emotionally ever again, that he has shot gun and has connections so high up he can make it look like an accident." I laughed hard. It hurt my throat, but I couldn't stop. He laughed a few times. "I'll give him credit, he did seem very threatening when he said it." I tried to imagine Gordon walking up to Liam, talking to him like that. It seemed laughable.

"What did you say in response?" He sat silently for a second.

"That it won't happen again, because I don't try to hurt people I love." I froze and peered up at him. _Love? Am I losing my ability to hear?_

"You what?" I asked, stupidly.

"I love you, Holly," he repeated, staring at me with those eyes blazing. I tried to recount how many times I had heard the words in my lifetime. Close to five – only by four different people. My mom said it twice, that I can remember at the age of 5. My grandparents and uncles rarely ever said it, but I remembered my uncle saying it to me the day I graduated from medical school. My dad said it once to me the day they hauled him off to prison, but I knew it was for show. A boyfriend of mine in med school said it to me, which promptly ended our relationship. I didn't know how to handle that at the time. We had been dating for almost a year and I just wasn't ready to commit to someone like that. I smiled slightly and put my hand on his face, rubbing my thumb across his skin. It was so hard for me to find someone that actually made me happy and was actually worth losing. Especially considering how difficult I am to get along with. I was a mess without this man…

"I love you, too, Liam," I whispered, leaning in to kiss him.


	18. Chapter 18: Epilogue

**Here it is… I'm really sad to stop writing this. I always develop attachments to characters, but this leads me on to new stories for me to get attached to. I thank you all for the support. It's been a lot of fun the last couple of weeks! I'm going to start working on a fanfic for Warrior that I've been meaning to write and possibly another Bane/OC fanfic if I can get the plot all worked out. (I'm pretty horrible with writing if I don't have a plot planned out!) Enjoy this one last chapter… - D**

I sit in a rocking chair, slowly rocking back and forth as I watch him try to assemble the mess of wood in front of him. He's got a few pieces of the crib put together, but can't figure out what to do with the rest. I've given up trying to tell him to read the instructions. 'That's not what men' do apparently. I put my hands over my mouth to keep myself from laughing as his face contorts up as he holds up a random screw. "Is this A5 or A10?" he asks out loud. I eventually let out a snort of a laugh and giggle helpless. My large, 'dome' of a stomach shakes, leaving it's occupant to kick a bit. I put a hand on my stomach and shut my eyes. He looks so domestic and out of his element, no scalpel or manila folder around him. This is the man that has helped hold all of my pieces together – the love of my life. He knows how to do so much to help put me together, yet can't put a crib with instructions together. And I'm pretty sure I'm more complicated than some crib.

"What?" he asks, confusedly, a trail of a smile on his face. "Am I doing it wrong?" he pushed his long, dark blonde hair away from his face, slicking it back into place. "You're laughing at me, aren't you?" I purse my lips and can't stop my shoulder from shaking from internal laughter. I can blame it on the hormones all I want.

"Never in a million years, Mr. Dorrance," I choke, shyly staring out of the window as he sets the pieces in his hands down on the ground. I hear him shift across the carpet.

"Oh, I think you are," he breathes, nuzzling my neck with his nose. I bite my lip and hold still, feeling his breath on my skin. It's so warm. "Mrs. Dorrance." I burst into another fit of laughter as his nose tickles my skin, just below my ear. I pull him against me and he kisses my neck softly before moving his mouth towards mine. He leans near me, holding both hands on the armrests of the rocking chair, his eyes locked on mine and I fall into him again.


End file.
